Complete Idiot's Guide to Reinventing Yourself

by Davidson, MBA, CMC, Jeff

• ISBN13: 9780028640051
• ISBN10: 0028640055
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-03-01
• Publisher: DK Publishing, Inc.

Summary

The hardest part of changing your life is figuring out how to get started. "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Reinventing Yourself" helps you figure out where you are and how to get what you want. It will show you how to assess your work, home, and family life, and then how to set goals and make them happen.

Author Biography

Jeff Davidson, MBA, CMC, is author of 28 books, including The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Managing Your Time, The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Managing Stress, and The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Reaching Your Goals. A popular conference and convention speaker, he is founder of the Breathing Space Institute, a firm that helps organizations whose people are suffering from time-pressure, stress, and information overload. He lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Getting Started on the New You	1	(57)
What Is Reinvention?	3	(12)
Reinvention is a chance to renew yourself---a chance to take on a new hobby, a new sport, a new pastime, a new cause, or a new life
Leveraging Your Circumstances	15	(12)
The longer you live, the more opportunities you have for reinventing your life! A number of predictable lifecycle events that you will experience may prompt you (or force you!) to reinvent yourself
Assessing Where You Are	27	(10)
So often in life, we look for answers everywhere but within. A fast and effective way to solve many problems is to engage in self-assessment, which can lead to reinvention
Feed Your Head	37	(10)
At any given moment, for whatever you want to accomplish, you always have more convincing, more compelling, and more numerous reasons for not proceeding than for proceeding. Proceed anyway
Overcoming the Impetus of Staying Put	47	(10)
Everything that you have done and experienced up until this point has contributed to the development of who and what you are, and still you have the ability to reinvent yourself. However, you have to overcome the hurdle that ``currently being you'' presents
Part 2: Getting Your Mind in Gear	57	(46)
Resting Your Mind and Your Body	59	(12)
If you have the time, inclination, and curiosity, you can quickly discover all kinds of mind-relaxing, body-smoothing rituals you can initiate that will help you get mellow
Advanced Measures for Your Mind	71	(12)
You need time when you're not trying to accomplish anything specific---even ``relaxing'' or ``having fun.'' You need to have time when you can simply be, with no agendas and nothing to accomplish
Exercising Your Mind	83	(10)
Your muscles get flabby and weak when they're not regularly exercised, and so does your mind. An ``out-of-shape'' mind is a huge obstacle to reinventing yourself
For Advanced Intellects	93	(10)
One of the best ways to learn more about yourself is to learn more about family members---after all, they had an impact on who you have become
Part 3: Reinventing Your Body	103	(52)
Above All, Get Balanced	105	(10)
If your life is about meeting deadlines, constantly competing, chauffeuring others, and racing around the clock, chances are that you're going to be out of balance in a hurry. Attaining and maintaining balance enables you to find the time to get more rested and further reinvent your life
Working Out Versus Spreading Out	115	(10)
Exercising gives us more energy and makes us healthier people, and looking better is sure to make one feel better. What better way to reinvent yourself than to drop those extra pounds and get in shape?
You Are What You Eat (Sort Of)	125	(10)
You can reinvent your eating habits so that every meal you eat---every morsel you put in your mouth---is part of the overall project of reinventing yourself
Physical Feats of Wonder	135	(10)
People who don't get enough physical activity are more likely to develop a wide range of afflictions that can reduce both the quality and the length of their lives
Redesiging Your Outer Shell	145	(10)
With the help of professionals in the art of ``bodily'' reinvention, you can redesign your outer shell in ways that were unknown to or not possible to previous generations
Part 4: Reinventing Your Career	155	(64)
All the Right Moves	157	(10)
Improving the way you manage your career can change the way you feel about yourself and your life
Advancing Your Career in the Electronic Age	167	(10)
Wherever you are in your career, to help you move from where you are to where you want to be, you must continually learn new skills, many of them related to using a computer and accessing the Internet
Written Tools to Transform Your Career and Your Life	177	(10)
By developing effective articles you'll find yourself getting noticed, advancing in your career, and maybe changing your life!
The Makings of a Leader	187	(10)
Success often is based on the ability to lead others. Almost magically, the act of leading others in itself becomes a transforming, self-reinventing process
Speakers Are Leaders	197	(12)
If you're uncomfortable speaking to others but have always had a desire to be a more effective speaker, take heart; this is one aspect of your life that is prime for reinvention
Taking a Sabbatical	209	(10)
The longer your work hours, the greater the odds that you need time away from work. Even if you can't foresee the possibility now, there may be a sabbatical in your future
Part 5: Reinventing Your Relationships	219	(32)
Improving Your Relationship with Your Significant Other	221	(10)
Reinventing your relationship with your significant other, as well as with your children, is a continuing process and is ultimately among the most rewarding
In-Laws and Outlaws	231	(10)
Sometimes the hardest aspect of life in which to reinvent yourself is with family members, because you and/or they become stuck in redundant relationships and play and replay worn-out roles
You Gotta Have Friends	241	(10)
With all the people who come in and out of our busy lives, it's easy to lose sight of the relationships we have with friends and neighbors. Yet, the relationships that you can have with them are an integral part of your life
Part 6: Reinventing Other Aspects of Your Life	251	(52)
Reinventing Your Relationship with Money	253	(12)
Money is one of the most powerful forces in each of our lives; for some of us, it's the main force, and reinventing your relationship with money may be a major issue for you right now
Discovering or Rediscovering Hobbies	265	(8)
There is no reason that each of us cannot rediscover that child within our hearts, allowing him or her to emerge to simply ``play'' again
Reinventing Yourself Through Civic Participation	273	(10)
As our ever-increasing, high-paced culture proceeds into the future, more people are seeking new paths toward fulfillment and happiness, as well as new ways to channel their energies
The Person You've Always Wanted to Be	283	(20)
Drawing upon your emotional intelligence, having mission or vision, offering forgiveness, and accepting the immutable are powerful measures in reinventing your life
Appendixes
A Glossary	293	(4)
B Bibliography	297	(6)
Index	303