A Life Above Zero

You guys! I did a thing... I've officially finished reading my first self help book!! Now don't get me wrong, I've been diving into a lot of self help since I started on this journey, but mostly audio, since I'm always out and about and it's easier to listen to something than it is to sit down and read! I've gotten through quite a few audio books and podcasts that way, but I've been making a conscious effort to read a few pages as part of my morning routine, and slowly but surely I finished it! The book I'm talking about is Life Above Zero by Lauren Kerr! I actually got gifted it by my business mentor in December of 2019, so yes, it's taken me a while, but I loved this book so much that I wanted to share it with you, in case it helps you too, and you want to go buy the book for yourself!

Lauren is actually one of my business mentors too! She's a Life and Wellness Coach that retired from the corporate rat-race of child protection work and built a thriving network marketing business. She also writes a blog and co-hosts a podcast, if you want to check out more of her work! (And if you love what she's about and want to get into her world, message me to check out what we do! Because anyone who works with me also gets access to Lauren as a business mentor - how good is collaborative business!?) Life Above Zero comes from Lauren's psychology background, where "zero" is baseline; a mediocre, normal, average life. But who wants to be average anyway!? So Life Above Zero is the idea that we can have abundance, we can live above that baseline, and we can want more than what society tells us is "normal!" This resonated with me so much, because I've always struggled to get my head around the 'white picket fence, 2.5 kids,' idea of normal... what is normal anyway!? Normal doesn't really exist, and if it did, it would be zero, so why is it a bad thing to want more than that? Why can't I be, do and have it all!? If you've been following along on my journey you'll know I have been exploring the woo-woo side of things more and more; listening to my intuition, being open to what is showing up for me, and struggling to get my logical brain around all the things I don't understand yet! But what I love about Lauren's approach is that it's very well balanced between the woo-woo, the science facts, real stories, and some tough love thrown in for good measure! It's a well rounded approach, and covers all the bases... Just when you think that things are getting a little too woo, there will be a chapter about research which brings it all back into focus and adds validity. I think my favourite thing though, is the actionable steps; throughout the book there are "Universal Assignments," which are little activities you can do in order to grow and learn about yourself as you work your way through the book! It's not really a sit-down-and-read-cover-to-cover kind of book... it involves a lot of self reflection and work in order to grow and evolve as the book progresses! I incorporated the universal assignments into my morning journaling, and actually learnt so much about myself through these reflections! This book really is a journey; it's such a great balance between heavy and light reading, and I'd recommend it to anyone who is falling short of their goals, anyone who feels like they want more out of life, or anyone who's just on a journey of self discovery. I'm so glad that this book came to me when it did - and I'm so glad that I made a conscious effort to work my way through it when I finally got to it! Here's to the first of many (I hope) amazing books that will guide me on my personal development journey!