Pearse Susan - Wired for Life : Retrain Your Brain and Thrive.

WIRED FOR LIFE

Dedicated to the present,
this moment in which anything is possible.

Copyright 2012 by Martina Sheehan and Susan Pearse

Published and distributed in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.: www.hayhouse.com.au
Published and distributed in the United States by: Hay House, Inc.: www.hayhouse.com
Published and distributed in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK, Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.uk
Published and distributed in South Africa by: Hay House SA (Pty), Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.za
Distributed in Canada by: Raincoast: www.raincoast.com
Published in India by: Hay House Publishers India: www.hayhouse.co.in

Design by Rhett Nacson
Typeset by Simon Paterson
Edited by Margie Tubbs

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording, nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviewswithout prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice nor prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for physical fitness and good health. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

ISBN: 978-1-4019-3850-5
Digital ISBN: 978-1-4019-3376-0

15 14 13 12 5 4 3 2
1st edition, October 2012
2nd edition, December 2012

Printed in Australia by McPhersons Printing Group

Are you ready to get Wired for Life? Many years ago we certainly were. We both remember waking up and realising that we had success without fulfilment, freedom without happiness, activity without authenticity. In that moment of realisation, we both knew that it was time to think differently and find a way to live differently. We took the usual path through new hobbies and interests, classes on this and that, new places to live, new jobs to try, new people to see. And we still had a yearning gap.

Then luck threw us a curve ball and we caught it. We sat facing the truth, not for the first time in our lives, but this time we saw it, heard it, and finally acknowledged it. We were holding ourselves back and it didnt matter where we lived, who we lived with, what we did or what we had accumulated. As always, our mind took the lead but it was full of fears, half-truths, bad habits and tricks. Once we looked inside we saw the trap, but also the way out.

We are two people with different personalities but, like everybody else, we ultimately seek the same things: to appreciate our lives, to be happy with our choices, and to feel like we are making some sort of difference. We want to experience a life well lived. At that time, we faced different obstacles and had different ways of reacting to what life put in our path, yet we both emerged with the same answer. Wed like to share with you our personal stories and show you how our journey led to the lives we are living now.

introducing susan pearse

I feel lucky to have had a very normal upbringing, raised by loving parents who to this day are still together and happy. I grew up in a small town that fostered a real sense of community. I was ticking off the checklist that should lead to happiness and success. Many amazing friends. Tick. Great school. Tick. Great grades. Tick. The right type of attention from the right boys. Tick. I seemed to be on the right track.

After leaving school I entered the university program that was my first preference, got an amazing job straight out of uni, worked hard, got promoted, and in no time was managing people two and three times my age.

I had the dream wedding to a perfect guy, we were on track to pay off our mortgage in under five years, and had planned when our first baby would be due. I always knew where and when my next vacation would be and when my next promotion was due. My days were scheduled, my weekends were organised, in fact my whole life was planned. And I achieved everything I set out to do. From the outside, people would have said I was a high achiever who had it all together. But if I didnt have a picture in my head of what something was supposed to be like and a plan to get there, I felt lost, uneasy, fearful.

Then one day as I was following my plans to live happily ever after, I woke up. Not just literally but metaphorically. I felt a deep sense of emptiness. I felt trapped, unhappy and unfulfilled. On the surface I had ticked all the boxes and had everything I needed, but life had no meaning and I was miserable. I had been following lifes path, or at least the path that everyone told me I needed to follow, but I awoke to find this path was not for me. I felt there was a bigger purpose that I was missing. But how would I find it? I had no idea what I liked, wanted or believed in. I realised that for 28 years I had lived like a robot, giving little thought to anything except the next step in the plan.

I had no idea who I was but I knew one thing: waking up was frightening, because losing the plan meant stepping into the unknown. For someone so attached to being in control, this looming void left me paralysed. I didnt act, I just kept going through the motions and fighting the feeling. But sooner or later something had to give. Unfortunately everything that was familiar and comfortable to me gave way at the same time. My marriage, my house, my job and my life as I knew it were all gone within months. At the time it scared the life out of me, but I now look back on it as the most precious moment, my turning point. I was finally in a position to really learn what my life was all about. And this was when I reconnected with someone from my past who was on the same search as me: someone who was to become a significant part of my future lifes purpose.

introducing martina sheehan

I also had a very normal upbringing in a happy family. Eight years younger than my closest sibling, I almost had the life of an only child, and it made me fairly independent. I found my life unremarkable, but I suppose on reflection it was not a particularly normal path for a young girl. When people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always answered An astronaut! I had my pilots licence before my drivers licence and studied mechanical engineering at university. I was the only girl in a class of guys for four years. It was great fun and I ambled along through life without much thought. Yes there were some stumbling blocks, like failing a subject and repeating, but none of this really concerned me. I was supported by a wonderful family who provided me with the tools to take responsibility for my life without feeling pressured or judged. But I never had a plan.

Going with the flow became my strength but also my trap. Without a sense of purpose or direction, I too easily slipped into the traditional roles in life: job with a big company, engaged at 24, buying our first house at 25. But I should have known that the picture of career, marriage and kids was never for me. The signs had been there all along. I was a non-conformist, but I was the only one who didnt see it. I was never rebellious; but I now know that my gut, my instinct or whatever you might want to call it, had been trying to wake me up for a long time and I wasnt listening. Just a few years out of university while plodding along as an engineer, I was asked to take on the challenge of establishing a new unit in the human resources group of an organisation with 20,000 people. Strange I thought, but why not? And somehow I knew I was on the right track. Engineering was never my thing, but people were fascinating!