Customer Reviews

The Power of Positive Choices: Adding and Subtracting Your Way to a Great Life

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am so thilled that The Power of Positive Choices, which was previously self published, is now available to a wider audience through bookstores and online resources. This book is the culmination of 25 years of work helping people reduce the stress in their lives by learning the art of making Positive Life Choices and subtracting their Serenity Stealers that are robbing them of the joy of living. You can lie on the floor and meditate and take a vacation, but if you return to a job you hate or a crumbling marriage or health problems you are not addressing, you will be locked in your stress response again. The Power of Positive Choices teaches you to break the cycle of self-abuse and "remember" that you are the author of your life story. You alone can determine if your life is a tragedy or a spiritual quest or a heart-warming love story. This book empowers you to make the best possible choices to increase the fulfillment in your life. The model is simple yet potent--you can master it. Bon chance.

This book is flawed beyond belief! First of all it assumes you have unlimited financial resources to fulfill all your desires and life ambitions. Case in point: page 39-40, "Tania" wants more from her marriage than her husband is willing/able to give, so what does she do?... she signs up for 2 adult ed. classes, opens a checking account, joins an investment club, selects several mutual funds to begin an investment portfolio. She then decides she can't cook, so after ending her marriage (thus making room for a new partner, who, of course, according to plan, appears), she finds a gourmet take-out restaurant, and buys a condo near it. All this from a woman who, according to the author, "hadn't worked in years, had no interest in money nor any idea what her resources were." Maybe this is where the new boyfriend comes in... maybe he's rich! Nothing from the author explaining where the money came from for all of these luxuries... and believe me you'd have to save for years to afford gourmet take-out, or a condo! Page 23 has you "imagining that you are financially secure and that money is no longer a struggle for you." All well and good... we all dream... but that's not reality... show us how to get the money to do all the things in your book! Page 66-67 has Karl wanting to compose and sell a hit song (gee, don't we all!). Apparently Karl has a very understanding boss, because, since he can't focus on song-writing at home with other family members present, he's able to go into work 2 hours late twice a week so as to have that quiet time to write at home... please tell me where he works... I'd love to have a job like that!! Last, but by no means least, there is "Belle"... page 68-69... who wants to be more physically fit, so she joins several health/exercise clubs, hires a personal trainer who COMES TO HER HOME!!(wow! mega bucks!)... arranges for a vacation trip to the Rockies for her family, and then, of course, leads a walking group every day... hmmm... would this be at 5am before work, or 6pm after work?

If I hadn't gotten this book from the library, I would have dumped it in the trash where it belongs. Save your money! It's quite obvious the author is wealthy and hasn't got a clue what struggles the average person has who doesn't have the money needed to do all the neat stuff in her book! Get a clue people, pull yourselves up by your bootstraps, and get on with your life! You have more inner strength than you know! P.S... Amazon's lowest rating is a "1"... I would have given it a zero.

The Power of Positive Choices has helped me concentrate on subtracting the serenity stealers from my life (which I never realized I had). I now spend much more time with people that make me happy and doing things that give me joy. It's amazing how this book can help you to reprioritize your goals. I am still working on it but my life becomes more fulfilling each day. Thank you, Gail McMeekin, for this incredible gift!

Simply Powerful! Written from a very easy to understand and grasp the powerful concepts contained within. This book is a powerful weapon not meant to be stuck on a shelf. Read it, Use it and improve you life dramatically! Kudo's! and Special thanks.
I encourage you to get this wonderful book!

In a confusing world of self-help books, McMeekin has boiled the sap down to maple syrup. A sweet read, with all that you need to know about taking charge of your life. Her formula is simple yet profound.

Most self-help books have an idea or two that are worth keeping. The rest don't apply to your specific situation, are too difficult to continue without support or professional help, or quit making sense after a week or two.

Gail McMeekin's book is different. Short chapters are logically arranged and build emotionally and usefully. Each chapter has at least one (and often several) exercises, each called an "Inquiry." They require only a thoughtful examination of your motives and choices, and an honest response. The answers pile up quickly, and you understand why you have been making the same mistake and shift to taking action.

McMeekin doesn't abandon you there. She lets you decide how you want to solve your problems--add something to your life or subtract something ("serenity stealers" are only part of the choices). The subtlety is that you only do the adding and subtracting when you are ready to make a choice, not in the heat of enthusiasm, fear, or frustration.

There are plenty of examples of how others made their choices and the result.

Briefer and more focused than Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way, The Power of Positive Choices can easily be used in the same week-by-week way.

A thinking person's self-help book. Get it, use it, enjoy the results of positive choices.

You can't say yes until you know how to say no, and this book takes the reader on a gentle journey that will, by the end, help her understand that she is the artist/designer of her life.

This is a perfect little book to tuck into your briefcase or diaper bag to pull out when you have a moment. It can inspire you to move forward with the dreams in your life. Very clearly written by author Gail McMeekin, this is a great gift to lift the spirit of anyone on your list. -- Mimi Doe --

The Positive Choices program really works. I've subtracted many of my own Serenity Stealers and am beginning to add in the Positive Choices of my dreams. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is ready to make some changes in their lives.

This book is magnificent for being both simple and deep -- not an easy accomplishment. What I liked most is that the book is so uplifting! Makes all the difficulty of change seem worthwhile and fruitful. I want to order hundreds of copies for my students!