THE TRUTH ABOUT LIFE

Happiness stems from self-acceptance.
Most problems are solvable. The sooner you recognise them, the better you’re able to deal with them.
Conflict is necessary, natural and good. It’s not a sign that something’s wrong.
Fear is created when you give your power away.
Your identity is a lifelong exploration. Enjoy the journey!
Giving greatest value to what others think of you results in emotional distress. Why? You’ll never be able to win everyone’s approval.
Ask yourself: How could my attitude and actions be contributing to the problem?
It’s scarier to take responsibility for your own life, but that’s how you grow.
Following a dream is the most liberating experience.
Failure is our greatest teacher.
Slow down and enjoy the beauty around you.
Reward yourself.

HOW THIS BOOK HAPPENED

During my 14-year career as a journalist, I’ve conducted hundreds of interviews with respected psychologists, relationship therapists, career counsellors, life coaches, dieticians, and other specialists in the art of living. The quest was to find tools to live life better – more happily, simply and successfully – and to pass them on to readers through magazine articles.

Hours and years of listening to these wise advisers was the best thing that could have happened to me in my twenties. Their advice inadvertently helped me on my personal journey: it make me ponder what I was doing and why, consider where I was and where I hoped to be in five, ten and twenty years’ time, and even wonder whether I should, ahem, perhaps do things differently to achieve my desired results.

The therapists opened my eyes to better ways of handling situations, and I applied their advice whenever I found myself in a romantic entanglement, financial fix or career crisis. Sometimes a key phrase (‘No-one can make you happy; only you can’), a good question (‘Are you trying to get love from someone who can’t give it to you?’), even a single word (‘Stop!’), proved life-changing for me. Today, no matter what happens in my life, I know I have the inner equipment to cope with it. Once I realised that, I could stop worrying and just enjoy what each day had to offer.

One evening a few years ago, in the middle of a completely unrelated conversation during a family dinner, I had a flash of inspiration: I knew without doubt that my task was to collate the best of this advice and share it with the world – in other words, with you.

Catriona