Most Helpful Customer Reviews
54 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book changed my life, March 27, 2003
By the time I had finished reading Chapter 1 of Susan's wonderful book, I had made a life-changing decision. The large house my husband and I loved had become a burden in this wretched economy, and we were agonizing over whether to downsize or struggle to hang on. "What if we'll never be able to own such a fabulous house again?" we thought. "Are we failures because we haven't been able to keep up with the Joneses?" "What will happen to us now?" The fear, longing, and possible disgrace were eating us alive. Then I found Susan's book. Stop hoping and start wondering, she counsels. Look at life not with fear, hope, and expectations, but with curiosity, she says. "I wonder how this will turn out" is the attitude to take. Turn your life into a story, one in which you can't wait to get to the next episode to see what will happen. Boom! Her advice knocked my socks off. I've never been able to resist seeing what's around the next corner. I decided to let the house go, and my husband agreed. Let the adventure begin! I once knew a woman who claimed that she was so optimistic that she could even look on the bright side when someone was dying of cancer. I never understood what she meant, but I've kept her mysterious statement in the back of my mind all these years. Susan's book made my friend's statement clear at last. When you can infuse your life with meaning and purpose, find the positive in both good and bad experiences, and use everything you've been through as an opportunity for learning, you can be optimistic in the face of hardship. Susan tells of a holocaust survivor who found fulfillment in helping other concentration camp inmates; a stroke victim and a quadriplegic who lived full, meaningful lives by focusing on helping others. It can all be done by letting go of expectations and making the most of what we have here and now. After all, as John Lennon said, life is what happens while you're making other plans. It takes courage and ingenuity to follow Susan's advice, but I promise that if you do, you will be transformed. I know this from my own experience, not just with the house, but from thinking back over my life. Think of it this way: You can continue to suffer, or you can embrace uncertainty and find golden nuggets all around you.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very helpful book!, March 22, 2005
Embracing Uncertainty was one of the first self help books that I have ever read.
I found it so helpful that it motivated me to find and read more books that would help me as much at achieving peace and happiness in my life.
Jeffers provides 58 simple exercises that can be practised throughout your day to help you deal with the challenges of life.
I've yet to find another book that offers so many tools to help teach you to control your mind. I use two of the exercises so much that they are now second nature to me!
The first exercise helps me whenever I find myself worrying about something and I can't seem to stop.
I simply tell myself that I'll worry about it tomorrow every time the thought comes up. It's a great mind trick saying you'll worry about it tomorrow when really you'll never let yourself worry about it. This exercise has let me enjoy the present moment without wasting it on useless worrying.
The second exercise that I found very useful was to teach myself to stop `hoping' for things. Instead, I only let myself `wonder' about what might happen. Wondering instead of hoping stops me from feeling disappointment that can come when something I hope for doesn't happen. A `wondering' world is a much easier one to be in than a `hoping' world!
There are 56 other good techniques in Embracing Uncertainty so I'm sure if these two don't quite speak to you, you'll find at least a couple of others that will make your world a lot better.
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Most Comforting Self-Help Book I Ever Read, October 17, 2003
By A Customer
I have read Embracing Uncertainty by Dr. Susan Jeffers a couple of times and I find it the most comforting self-help book that I have ever read. Seldom is one provided with so many wonderful tools to overcome the stress and anxiety caused by the troubled world around us. Against the background of the current world crisis, a lousy economy and the constant threat of terrorist attacks, we all need help to keep calm and balanced, and I found Dr. Jeffers's advice to be ideal in terms of leveling my personal equilibrium. Now, I can approach each day with much more confidence and handle the uncertainty in the world without feeling fearful and stressed. Further, the book is filled with such common sense advice that's so clearly stated, it is accessible to everyone. I can't recommend this highly enough! A great gift for loved ones...
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