Review – The Freedom Experiment’s Guide to Feeling Good When Life is Hard, by Marthe Hagan
I came across The Freedom Experiment blog a few weeks ago after signing up for the Blogcademy in London. The woman behind the website, Marthe Hagan, is also making the trip to the capital for a weekend blogging workshop with industry stars Gala Darling, Nubby Twiglet and Kat Williams a.k.a the Rock ‘n’ Roll Bride.
Marthe recently reached out to the Blogcademy attendees via Facebook and asked if anyone would be interested in reviewing her soon to be released e-book, Feeling Good When Life is Hard. As I’m all about books, I jumped at the chance.
I’ll admit, I’ve never read a self-help book before. Although, like many people out there, I’m guilty of not always living my life in a way that makes me happy, I’ve never actively looked for advice on how to change my ways and improve my quality of life. I’ve always thought that a lot of self-help stuff is fairly obvious. I know the areas of my life that I could improve on, but doing something about it is a different matter.
So Marthe’s book actually couldn’t have arrived in my inbox at a better time. For me, starting this blog has been the first step towards taking control of my life and career and trying to make something happen, rather than waiting around for the universe to deal me the right hand.
Feeling Good When Life is Hard is all about taking control, facing your problems head on and learning strategies to become a more positive person who is better able to deal with any negative situations that might arise.
As Marthe writes:
“You can control your reaction to the circumstances. You can control the way you perceive life. And you can control the actions that will make all the difference.”
Marthe uses a combination of stories, advice and exercises to get her message across. The examples she gives actually come from her own life, something she is very open about; I found this a brave move, as she really lays her soul bare. However, realising that the author has struggled with these issues and managed to overcome them is inspiring for any reader.
One tip that I found particularly useful was to do with managing stress when you’re busy. I’ve got a hectic job and regularly find myself running frantically from one task to the next, not to mention the activities that occupy my ‘free’ time. I often find myself panicking that there just isn’t time to get everything done. Marthe points out that the reason this is such a stressful situation is because you allow your thoughts to get the better of you. Instead of worrying that you don’t have enough time, calmly approach each task and make the most of the time you do have. You’ll soon find that you manage to get more done than you ever thought possible and you’ll be a lot less stressed.
Feeling Good is a striking yet simply designed e-book that is eye catching and easy to read. The information is broken down into clear sections and the content never gets too heavy. It’s well-written and the author has an engaging and friendly voice that never becomes patronising.
Plus, anyone who includes a quotation from a Haruki Murakami novel is my kind of writer!
8/10
For more information about Marthe or to get hold of a copy of Feeling Good When Life is Hard, which launches December 6th 2012, visit The Freedom Experiment blog.