The Power of Positive Choices


Book Description

“Gail has the ability to show us how to move our lives forward with power, dignity and grace . . . She is truly the Goddess of Creativity.” —Loretta LaRoche, bestselling author of Juicy Living, Juicy Aging The world is on overload, at least from our modern-day Western perspective. Gail McMeekin believes that we can effectively reduce stress in our lives and bring more meaning into them, and she has developed a program to help people to do just that by showing them the power of making positive choices. Readers are taught to see their Serenity Stealers—issues, habits, people—that need to be “subtracted” from their lives. With those negative life choices gone—choices that deplete their energy and sidetrack them from their goals—readers are shown how to make positive life choices. Carefully selected and added one at a time, these life choices will bring them closer to the joy and meaningfulness they need and desire. The Power of Positive Choices is short and brief by design. Filled with probing questions and helpful self-tests, it is “a brilliant distillation of the steps we each need to take to make the power of choice work . . . [a] clear, vibrant, go-go juice of a book” (Jennifer Louden, author of Why Bother?: Discover the Desire for What’s Next). “By showing us how to confront and banish what’s holding us back and how to consciously choose what’s best in the long run, this book reminds us that we have choices that affect the quality of our lives and helps us create a life in which joy plays a leading role.” —Patti Breitman, author of How to Say No Without Feeling Guilty




The Paradox of Choice


Book Description

Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions—both big and small—have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented. As Americans, we assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression. In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice—the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination that we so cherish—becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice—from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs—has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse. By synthesizing current research in the social sciences, Schwartz makes the counter intuitive case that eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives. He offers eleven practical steps on how to limit choices to a manageable number, have the discipline to focus on those that are important and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.




Choice Theory


Book Description

Dr. William Glasser offers a new psychology that, if practiced, could reverse our widespread inability to get along with one another, an inability that is the source of almost all unhappiness. For progress in human relationships, he explains that we must give up the punishing, relationship–destroying external control psychology. For example, if you are in an unhappy relationship right now, he proposes that one or both of you could be using external control psychology on the other. He goes further. And suggests that misery is always related to a current unsatisfying relationship. Contrary to what you may believe, your troubles are always now, never in the past. No one can change what happened yesterday.




Happy By Choice: 50 Proven Ways To Achieve Lasting Happiness


Book Description

"Happy By Choice" is a comprehensive guide to finding joy and fulfillment in everyday life. With practical tips and actionable advice, this book offers readers a variety of strategies to cultivate happiness in their lives, from connecting with loved ones to engaging in creative projects and learning new skills. Through the power of positive thinking and intentional actions, readers can discover the happiness that they deserve. Whether you're seeking simple pleasures or life-changing experiences, "Happy By Choice" is the ultimate resource for anyone looking to live their happiest life.




The Authenticity Principle


Book Description

In a society that pushes conformity, how can you be courageously authentic despite fear of judgment? Award-winning leadership and diversity expert Ritu Bhasin gives you the tools to make this happen. This is more than a call to "be yourself"-it's a rally to disrupt the status quo, bring your differences to the light, and help others do the same.




Complex Strategic Choices


Book Description

Effective decision making requires a clear methodology, particularly in complex, globally relevant situations. Institutions and companies in all disciplines and sectors are faced with increasingly multi-faceted areas of uncertainty which cannot always be effectively handled by traditional strategies. Complex Strategic Choices provides clear principles and methods which can guide and support strategic decision to face modern challenges. By considering ways in which planning practices can be renewed and exploring the possibilities for acquiring awareness and tools to add value to strategic decision making, Complex Strategic Choices presents a methodology which is further illustrated by a number of case studies and example applications. Dr. Techn. Steen Leleur has adapted previously established research based on feedback and input from various conferences, journals and students resulting in new material stemming from and focusing on practical application of systemic planning. The outcome is a coherent and flexible approach named systemic planning. The inclusion of both the theoretical and practical aspects of systemic planning makes this book a key resource for researchers and students in the field of planning and decision analysis as well as practitioners dealing with strategic analysis and decision making. More broadly, Complex Strategic Choices acts as guide for professionals and students involved in complex planning tasks across several fields such as business and engineering.




Choice, Preferences, and Procedures


Book Description

Kotaro Suzumura is one of the world’s foremost thinkers in social choice theory and welfare economics. Bringing together essays that have become classics in the field, Choice, Preferences, and Procedures examines foundational issues of normative economics and collective decision making. Social choice theory seeks to critically assess and rationally design economic mechanisms for improving human life. An important part of Suzumura’s contribution over the past forty years has entailed fusion of abstract microeconomic ideas with an understanding of real-world economies in a coherent analysis. This volume of selected essays reveals the evolution of Suzumura’s thinking over his career. Groundbreaking papers explore the nature of individual and social choice and the idea of assigning value to freedom of choice, different forms of rationality, and concepts of individual rights, equity, and fairness. Suzumura elucidates his innovative approach for recognizing interpersonal comparisons in the vein of Adam Smith’s notion of sympathy and expounds the effect of paying due attention to nonconsequential features, such as the opportunity to choose and the procedure for decision making, along with the standard consequential features. Analyzing the role of economic competition, Suzumura points out how restricting competition may, in some circumstances, improve social welfare. This is not to recommend government regulation rather than market competition but to emphasize the importance of procedural features in a competitive context. He concludes with illuminating essays on the history of economic thought, focusing on the ideas of Vilfredo Pareto, Arthur Pigou, John Hicks, and Paul Samuelson.




Positive Choices, Positive Behavior


Book Description

BOOK CONTEST AWARD A 2013 Readers' Favorite Bronze Medal Award Winner in the motivational category, "Positive Choices, Positive Behavior: How to Improve Your Character, Life, and Relationships" also received a 5-star Reader's Favorite review by Kim Anisi: "This book is different: you have to answer the questions, you have to think about your behavior and you have to be honest to yourself." BOOK DESCRIPTION Nancy L. Janke had a life changing "aha" moment: You can react and respond either negatively or positively to people or situations. The choice is yours. Based on her "aha" moment, Nancy wrote "Positive Choices, Positive Behavior: How to Improve Your Character, Life, and Relationships" for the following reasons: Plant the seeds of awareness in you about your negative and positive choices Prompt you to work through the consequences from your past negative reactions and responses so you can make more positive choices on a daily basis Suggest helpful, practical ways for you in which you can enhance your character, enrich your quality of life, and strengthen your relationships Telling her personal stories about her negative and positive choices, Ms. Janke also shares the valuable life lessons she's learned from her choices. In this workbook, Nancy focuses on the following negative/positive choices: Surrender to your fears/Confront and conquer your fears Give into your personal power/Take back your personal power Mistreat others/Treat others well Manage your anger improperly/Manage your anger properly Criticize others/Support others Reject yourself/Accept yourself Reject others/Accept others Refuse to forgive yourself/Forgive yourself Refuse to forgive others/Forgive others Refuse to love yourself/Love Yourself Withhold giving love to others/Give love to others Resist receiving love from others/Receive love from others Refuse to terminate a toxic relationship/Terminate a toxic relationship Refuse to repair a broken relationship/Repair a broken relationship Refuse to develop a meaning relationship/Develop a meaningful relationship The vast majority of the sections in this self-help workbook are about you and for you. Over 500 thought-provoking questions, 50 example answers, and 350 positive choices suggestions motivate you to learn more about your personal choices concerning your behavior toward others. Is it your desire to improve your own character, life, and relationships? Don't you want your positive behavior to have a positive effect on people? Are you interested? Let me help you! "Positive Choices, Positive Behavior" is also available as an e-book. Ms. Janke has taken the introduction, one of the 15 chapters, and the conclusion from this main book and made them into a series of 15 (chapter) e-book volumes. For more information about Nancy and her book, check out www.NancyJanke.com. You can read her weekly blog based on her books at www.NancyJanke.blogspot.com.







Never a Choice


Book Description

From Luann Perhaps readers of this book still believe that homosexuality is perverted and evil. I understand all too well where people with those views are coming from. It has taken me many years to accept the idea that God accepts a union between two people of the same sex. No matter how anyone feels about this particular idea, the important thing to remember is that we must stop condemning and start loving. My journey to understanding is not over. I want to keep on growing and learning, but I hope that some of what I have learned can be helpful to others who are struggling to understand and to accept. This book includes a great deal of my spiritual philosophy because that is an important part of my story and an integral part of who I am. However, I believe that because I started with so many firmly entrenched misconceptions about homosexuality and because my religious training was so rigidly anti-gay, my journey was longer and more painful than it needs to be for many others. If someone who started out as an "Anita Bryant clone" can eventually march in a gay pride parade carrying a sign, "We love our gay kids," there's hope for anyone! From Andy As a man who grew up in a time when same-sex marriage was completely unthinkable, I find being married a wonderful (if unexpected) experience. My husband and I call each other "husband" all the time; it is our preferred term of endearment. And having had the opportunity to participate in one of the foundational rituals of love and partnership has added something in my life that I never even knew existed. I hope you have enjoyed our stories--we have enjoyed sharing them--and that you might take something with you to comfort or inspire you on your journey. I look forward to the next time our paths cross.