Living A Bigger Life

Did you know that the average woman in the UK spends 31 years of her life on a diet? THIRTY-ONE YEARS spent on the soul-destroying pursuit of smallness, with no real guarantee of improved health or happiness anyway....what an absolute waste! But what if there was a different way? Imagine what incredible things women could do instead with all that time, money, energy and effort usually spent on dieting? Imagine how much healthier and happier we would all be if we stopped focussing so much on what we looked like, or what others might think about our appearance and instead focussed on REALLY loving and embracing who we truly are?Perhaps then we could just get on with living a BIGGER, more EXCITING, more ADVENTUROUS life? Julie Creffield is the plus size marathon runner turned no bullshit life coach who literally spent 20 years of her life trying not to be FAT, believing that if only she could squeeze into a size 12 pair of jeans all of her problems would fade away, and she could finally find happiness.After a string of unfortunate incidents such as being made redundant for the 4th time in 10 years, becoming a single mum on benefits, and then being unceremoniously kicked out of her local job center to fend for herself, Julie decided enough was enough it was time to stop waiting for her weight and life to change, and to instead change her stinking thinking, create some radical self-care habits and start rebuilding her life.As the founder of the fitness movement Too Fat to Run? and the anti-diet programme "Stop Dieting, Start Living" Julie has worked as a transformational coach with more than 10,000 women around the world to help them prioritise their health and happiness, and live a more purpose-filled adventurous life. This book is an inspirational, funny and provocative look at what makes Julie's coaching techniques so applicable, with a practical toolkit of ideas, exercises, and challenges to help you be the best version of yourself, with or without the promise of any future weight loss.

One of the authors favorite New Yorker cartoons depicts Charles Dickens discussing his manuscript with an editor. The editor is saying, I wish you would make up your mind, Mr. Dickens. Was it the best of times or the worst of times? It could scarcely have been both. This humorous message captures the concrete, either-or thinking that can cause a person to get stuck while on his or her journey towards living a bigger life. Peter Allman has written a unique, compelling, yet simple collection of paradoxes that invite the reader to unlock the mystery of living a bigger life that includes the both-and thinking of paradoxes. This book helps the reader to integrate paradoxical truths. Each chapter is drawn from the authors personal experiences as a psychotherapist, adjunct professor of undergraduate and graduate psychology classes, sought-after public speaker, co-founder and president of a non-profit, after-school center for disadvantaged adolescents, husband, and father. The Western mind and the left brain have ignored much of the depth of true spirituality--by ignoring its invariably paradoxical character. Peter Allman does an immense service by holding and yet revealing great paradoxes in a very creative tension. This book could change the way you hear spiritual texts and teachers, and the way you will grow from now on! ?Richard Rohr, O.F.M., author of Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this lovely, easy-to-use illustrated guide to decluttering, the beloved author of The Happiness Project shows us how to take control of our stuff—and, by extension, our lives. Gretchen Rubin knows firsthand that creating order can make our lives happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative. But for most of us, a rigid, one-size-fits-all solution doesn't work. When we tailor our approach to suit our own particular challenges and habits, we can find inner calm. With a sense of fun, and a clear idea of what’s realistic for most people, Rubin suggests dozens of manageable tips and tricks for creating a more serene, orderly environment, including: • Never label anything “miscellaneous.” • Ask yourself, “Do I need more than one?” • Don’t aim for minimalism. • Remember: If you can’t retrieve it, you won’t use it. • Stay current with a child’s interests. • Beware the urge to “procrasticlear.” By getting rid of things we don’t use, don’t need, or don’t love, we free our minds (and our shelves) for what we truly value.

Have you ever found yourself asking, “Is this all there is to life?” Or wondering if this bigger life you have created is actually a better life? And do you wonder how it all got so out of control? In her groundbreaking bestseller The Not So Big House, architect Sarah Susanka showed us a new way to inhabit our houses by creating homes that were better–not bigger. Now, in The Not So Big Life, Susanka takes her revolutionary philosophy to another dimension by showing us a new way to inhabit our lives. Most of us have lives that are as cluttered with unwanted obligations as our attics are cluttered with things. The bigger-is-better idea that triggered the explosion of McMansions has spilled over to give us McLives. For many of us, our ability to find the time to do what we want to do has come to a grinding halt. Now we barely have time to take a breath before making the next call on our cell phone, while at the same time messaging someone else on our Blackberry. Our schedules are chaotic and overcommitted, leaving us so stressed that we are numb, yet we wonder why we cannot fall asleep at night. In The Not So Big Life, Susanka shows us that it is possible to take our finger off the fast-forward button, and to our surprise we find how effortless and rewarding this change can be. We do not have to lead a monastic life or give up the things we love. In fact, the real joy of leading a not so big life is discovering that the life we love has been there the entire time. Through simple exercises and inspiring stories, Susanka shows us that all we need to do is make small shifts in our day–subtle movements that open our minds as if we were finally opening the windows to let in fresh air. The Not So Big Life reveals that form and function serve not only architectural aims but life goals as well. Just as we can tear down interior walls to reveal space, we can tear down our fears and assumptions to open up new possibilities. The result is that we quickly discover we have all the space and time we need for the things in our lives that really matter. But perhaps the greatest reward is the discovery that small changes can yield enormous results. In her elegant, clear style, Susanka convinces us that less truly is more–much more.

“Offers a useful reminder of the role of modern science in fundamentally transforming all of our lives.” —President Barack Obama (on Twitter) “An important book.” —Steven Pinker, The New York Times Book Review The surprising and important story of how humans gained what amounts to an extra life, from the bestselling author of How We Got to Now and Where Good Ideas Come From In 1920, at the end of the last major pandemic, global life expectancy was just over forty years. Today, in many parts of the world, human beings can expect to live more than eighty years. As a species we have doubled our life expectancy in just one century. There are few measures of human progress more astonishing than this increased longevity. Extra Life is Steven Johnson’s attempt to understand where that progress came from, telling the epic story of one of humanity’s greatest achievements. How many of those extra years came from vaccines, or the decrease in famines, or seatbelts? What are the forces that now keep us alive longer? Behind each breakthrough lies an inspiring story of cooperative innovation, of brilliant thinkers bolstered by strong systems of public support and collaborative networks, and of dedicated activists fighting for meaningful reform. But for all its focus on positive change, this book is also a reminder that meaningful gaps in life expectancy still exist, and that new threats loom on the horizon, as the COVID-19 pandemic has made clear. How do we avoid decreases in life expectancy as our public health systems face unprecedented challenges? What current technologies or interventions that could reduce the impact of future crises are we somehow ignoring? A study in how meaningful change happens in society, Extra Life celebrates the enduring power of common goals and public resources, and the heroes of public health and medicine too often ignored in popular accounts of our history. This is the sweeping story of a revolution with immense public and personal consequences: the doubling of the human life span.

A revised edition of this bestselling title to coincide with the publication of the author's new title, E-Cubed.

In this memoir, Joan Burge speaks with wisdom and clarity to every woman in every walk of life, tackling the multi-faceted ever-changing roles of today's woman with candor, wit and straight talk. Her stories will inspire you to "hang on" no matter what, to see the light in the darkest night and to know you are stronger than you imagine so you can remove whatever holds you back from becoming all you were created to be: fully invigorated in every aspect of life.

Brian Grazer knows the one thing that can instantly connect you with anyone: Curiosity. A Curious mind offers a brilliantly entertaining and inspiring account of how his courage and enthusiasm for talking with complete strangers have been the secret of his success as a leading Hollywood producer.