Customer Reviews

The Momnificent(TM) Life: Healthy and Balanced Living for Busy Moms

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I am the world's worst procrastinator. When it comes to getting important things done, I'd rather stick my head under the pillow and hope that they'll get done by themselves. Or become no longer important.

It's not that I don't have a little time to do those things. Or even that I don't want to. I just have the ability to waste the time I do have on inconsequential things, like entering book giveaway contests. There is just this rush feeling I get when I find a "You Won" email in my inbox that keeps me going! At least it's an inexpensive addiction, right?

Or not. Time is pretty valuable these days. They say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.

Needless to say, I don't perceive my life to be very balanced. I scored quite horrifically on the Life Balance Analysis found in The Momnificent! Life: Healthy and Balanced Living for Busy Moms by Lori Radun.

It's time to get my head out from under the pillow and strive for healthy and balanced living.

Overview

This book is all about balance. "Balance occurs when who you are, what you want to do in life, and what you value are aligned with your thoughts, activities and choices."

Radun looks at eight components of your life - personal development, spirituality, fun and enjoyment, relationships, health & aging, personal finance, career & profession, and home & family - and, after helping you assess each component, gives you tips and strategies for achieving balance within those components. Each of the 59 chapters has a Take Action Assignment, as well, to motivate you to make the changes needed to achieve balance.

My Review

I started this book trying to read straight through it - thinking that's what I'd need to do to write a review.

Bad idea. Not only did my mind keep straying from the formidable task at hand, all the ideas jumbled up in an insurmountable and left me with nothing to focus on - no single-sentence message that could help me achieve anything.

So I quit reading. Took a break. Went back to the first chapter. The assessment. Yes - I need help in just about every category of my life! But I'm not gonna achieve balance all in one go - it's an ongoing process! And I need to start small.

If I treat this book as a reference manual, it works far better.

The chapter on time management was a good one for me. In her 5 E's list, Radun helps you identify and prioritize non-negotiable items, things you have to do, and finally the "Uglee" items - time wasters that you need to be conscious of and strategize to minimize their damage.

And of course, the procrastination chapter! I appreciate that the author acknowledges that there ARE benefits to procrastination - that's why so many of us do it! And I appreciate her challenge to make changes to break the cycle.

The references to spirituality left me feeling a little uncomfortable. I am a Christian. The author believes in God. Yet the attempt has been made, it seems, to make this a book that meets all readers whatever their spiritual beliefs. And I would be more comfortable with a book that is overtly Christian in its solutions to finding balance, since Christ is the balancing point to me.

If you're looking for a starting point in your search for balanced living, by all means check this book out.

Don't expect it to work miracles.

However, it can be a handy reference guide, first to direct you to the areas you need to work on in your life to achieve balance, and then to give some tips in that area.

Once you know what you want to work on, you may want to supplement your reading with additional information on that area. For example, I've seen entire books on teaching children independence and responsibility that will obviously give a lot more information than you will find in one short chapter of this book.

And it might be helpful to read through this book as a group or with a partner - to provide some accountability for the action items.

I have experienced this book. It is more than just information but a way to examine your life....to be both challenged and encouraged. Each chapter has very relevant topics and practical application. There are questions for personal reflection on each topic. "Healthy and balanced" are wishes deep in the heart of moms and Lori brings this book as a map for the journey. I hope you will read this book and allow the wisdom that is in it to fill your life. I find myself reaching to read this resource again and again. You will be glad that you invested in this book. Go Moms!!!!..."Be Momnificent".

The Momnificent Life; Healthy and Balanced Living for Busy Moms, is a guide for all moms no matter what activities you balance. Whether you juggle your home life with work, school, church, sports, or charities, every mom has a busy and hectic life that can easily be encouraged, advised, influenced and supported by this book. The author lays a careful plan and guideline to help moms in areas such as time, managemnt, financial intimacy, personal development, career and health among many others. The goal is to help moms discover themselves aside from, yet in tune with, their children and families. It's a book of how to manage life and stress, showing how you can have it all. It is about balance and how to take a nurturing approach to motherhood.

The book starts off with an introduction that shares the eight components to having a "Momnificent" life. Each component is summarized and later expanded on throughout the book. I found this overview very useful to the rest of the book. There is a wealth of knowledge in The Momnificent Life. The first time you read it will not be your last. I found myself re-reading specific chapters that dealt with my own needs as a mom and going back to it as a guide and re-fresher. The author carefully explains life as a balance process. If it is tipped to much in one direction it can easily burn us out. No one activity is good all the time, they are better in a balance with other activities, just the same as our health and eating habits. She clearly states that a balanced life is different for everyone because balancing is personal and in regards to what is important to you. She gives charts and assignment suggestions throughout the book help the reader to better understand themselves.

I really enjoyed this book! It is by far a wonderfuly useful tool to me as a mother. I am constantly busy. I have my own two children, one in school and the other potty training and generally a very curious child, which means I cannot take my eyes off her. In addition I baby-sit my nephew full time and work a full time job. I rarely have time for myself and have known I am burning out quickly for a while. The book has helped me prioritize where I didn't know how, examine areas I didn't think to examine, and encouraged me in area I have already started changing and working on. It is not a book that is a one time read for me, but rather one I go to to help remind me, encourage me and give me advise. One of my favorite parts of this book was "zap the mommy guilt" something every mother deals with on multiple levels and many different areas. I also personally enjoyed the chapter on friendships and stress. These two are two problem areas for me, my friendships are not being tended to properly and the stress comes in large amounts that are not healthy. With great attention to detail and the aspects of a moms life, Lori Redun provides a wonderful guide on how to be Momnificent!


Reviewed for Review-the-book

The Momnificent! Life-- Healthy and Balanced Living for Busy Moms is the book that many mom's have cried out to the heavens for. "Where is the manual?" Well, Lori Radun, a life coach, public inspirational speaker and author has answered the cries of busy mom's with this book! As a full-time worker outside the home, homeschooling mother and wife I can attest to the struggles of keeping everything in balance while maintaining my sanity.

This book consists of 59 chapters full of valuable information and ponderings separated into eight sections which include: Personal Development; Spirituality; Fun and Enjoyment; Relationships; Health and Aging; Personal Finance; Career and Professions; and Home and Family.

The author begins the book by explaining the eight components to living a momnificient life. Some of the components include: "confidence", which is knowing and accepting who you are; the ability to set healthy boundaries so that we know what we will and will not tolerate; and having healthy and supportive relationships. She explains these eight components to lay the foundation for the rest of the book.

In chapter one, which is a must read, Lori guides the reader into the land of self discovery and analyzing your own life balance using the Wheel of Life. When you complete this exercise you will discover the areas that you are most satisfied with in your life and, of course, the areas that you are dissatisfied with. From there you are encouraged to read the chapters that follow based on your discovery. I'm sure that there is a chapter in there for you! I found several!

While I would not recommend reading this entire book from cover to cover right off the bat, I would say that the entire book should be read intermittently, over a span of time, as the need arises. This book is meant to be read, pondered, and digested over and over again--slow and steady.

Overall, this book is wonderful! It isn't something that you can zip through in a matter of a couple of weeks. To get the full benefit of the book and the self discovery you have to take your time. I can not emphasize that enough. If you do so, you will walk away with a wealth of knowledge about yourself and begin to enjoy a balanced life each day. Lori Radun is very good with words and imagery. She is diligent in leading you to see the big picture as well as the tweaks and changes that can be made in your life that you would have never thought of on your own.

If you feel like your life is out of balance or are stressed and feeling overwhelmed with life, read this book! Find out where you are, the changes that can be made, and create a straight path towards a Momnificient Life.

Lori has packed a lot of information into this book. I found that for me - reading each chapter was not the answer. I focused on the areas that I knew were challenging for me and really took in what Lori had to say. I loved the personal touch and stories that I could relate to - it made for a very enjoyable and helpful read! If you are a bit overwhelmed with the busyness of motherhood I am sure you will find many useful strategies in this book to help you!

It does not matter if you are female or male -- new or old on the "mom" or "dad" path, there is something in this book for you. I used this book as a nightly study - reading it chapter by chapter so I could really think about the information -- others might want to read it all at once - yellow highlighting the parts that touch a chord with you. It is well written and full of wisdom. The author encourages readers to "rethink the old tapes," but most of all she gives us tools to help us become the best "us" we can be.

I am a work-at-home mom. Not to be confused with the work-from-home mother.

I am a Manager; a manager of my household consisting of four children and a husband. My physical place of employment is at home.

Therefore, I am a work-at-home mom.

To define myself in a manner that brings me a sense of satisfaction - of accomplishment - was the very first of many important life-changing steps I learned from The Momnificent Life: Healthy and Balanced Living for Busy Moms by Lori Radun.

And then I was hooked!

For three days, I delved into learning how to grow and prosper in my job and my personal life; which, for me, happens to be in one the same.

Don't misunderstand. The Momnificent! Life isn't just for the full time mother. This book is for any mother looking to gain a sense of balance in her life.

Readers are encouraged to evaluate several aspects of their life.

At the end of each segment, readers are invited to engage in assignments that help to exercise the principals learned.

The Momnificent Life: Healthy and Balanced Living for Busy Moms is a book that I will keep nearby as a handy reference tool; as a means to finding a balance in an all too frequently unbalanced lifestyle.