Shaa Wasmund - How to Fix Your Shit: A Straightforward Guide to a Better Life

This book was a true labour of love. In fact, this book wasnt even meant to exist. It was a series of conversations in my head that I was struggling with.

The book I was meant to write, the one my publishers had signed off on, was on a totally different subject altogether. Then, six months after my deadline had passed, I still hadnt written that book.

This was more than writers block. That book, the one I was supposed to write, had vanished into thin air.

I realized over a series of challenging days and weeks that my struggle wasnt in the writing; my struggle was in the content.

I had a book, this book, that needed to be written, and it was right in front of my eyes, yet all the while I was focused on writing that book. Doing the same thing over and over again, but nothing was working. I was getting nowhere, fast. Sound familiar?

I realized that what I needed to do, what I had to do, was write the book in my head, the book in my heart.

The one that meant the most to me.

This is for you. Youve got this. And Ive got you.

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First published 2019

Copyright Sh Wasmund, 2019

The moral right of the author has been asserted

ISBN: 978-0-241-32776-0

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

So when did life get so complicated?

As Dr Seuss said, Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.

Its as if it creeps up on us like a thief in the night, stealing away our joy, our freedom and our joie de vivre Suddenly we are on one long merry-go-round, desperate to get off, to take a break, or even a breath.

We try to pinpoint a time when the overwhelm first took hold. Was it when we had kids, got a mortgage, a new job, a divorce ? But the truth is, we cant really find the exact time; we just woke up one day and there it was.

That sense of everything just being a little too much to manage all at once. Nothing seems simple any more. There are so many responsibilities and obligations. We dont know what to focus on first or where to direct our attention because everything and everyone is pulling at us.

We cant remember the last time we really switched off.

We wake up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet and the first thing we do is check our phone. We say yes to things we dont want to do out of obligation to people were not even sure were really that keen on. As a result, we never have enough time for the people who really matter to us. Crazy, isnt it?

We feel pulled from pillar to post. Were never quite holding it all together, at least not at the same time. If were making our career work, then our friends and families are suffering. If weve got our kids on track, then we feel like were not focused enough on work. There never seems to be enough money to take the kind of holidays we really want. In fact, just finding the time or the money to go on holiday is starting to become a task in itself. As for our health well, lets just say that seems to fall down our priority list. Or maybe not even make it on to the list.

Our dreams seem like a long-distant memory and todays reality is just getting through the week without a major upset or drama.

We feel that whatever we do, no matter how hard we work, we just cant get the needle to move in the right direction or at least not for long enough for there to be lasting change.

If this sounds like you, youre not alone, I hear you Ive felt like that so many times but I promise you, you can change things.

You see, if we are truly honest, most of us are guilty of simply doing the same thing, over and over again, and somehow expecting a different result.

You can either allow the situation to consume you OR you can use the situation as a catalyst for change. Sometimes it feels like being consumed might be the easiest option, but change is what you want, its why youve bought this book, so lets do that. The best place to start? Right here. Right now.

As we grow up, we are told that anger isnt a positive emotion, but I tend to disagree: anger is a much more positive emotion than despair and, channelled in the right way, it can be an extremely powerful catalyst for change. Never take your anger or frustration out on others; instead, channel it into taking back control of your life and your future.

Its time to look at your neurological pathways because, at the moment, they are taking you down the WRONG path.

If you keep repeating patterns, nothing changes. If youre not willing to turn left instead of right, you will stay on the same path.

The truth is, what got you here wont get you there, the place where you want to be. If you want something to change, then you have to be prepared to actually change, not just rerun the same coping mechanisms that have got you exactly where you are right now. Which is not where you want to be

All too often, the fear of what we really want from life is greater than our will to get it. So we keep wishing for it, but with no real hope of ever achieving it because we never really do anything different. Its not that you dont want to, its just that you dont know how to. And if we are being honest, sometimes, youre a little scared to.

So, how do we change that?

It starts by being more self-aware.

Life doesnt need to feel so complicated and overwhelming. Bear with me, and I promise you, between you, me and this book were gonna change it.

This book is for you if

* youve woken up one day and asked yourself, When did my life get so complicated?!

* youre not where you want to be. Or where you thought youd be.

* you know you can do more, be more and deserve more.

* you feel like youve really tried to change things, but nothing seems to shift. At least not permanently.

* youre exhausted. And frustrated. With life, but mostly with yourself.

* youre fed up with making the same mistakes over and over again.

* youve realized you dont know how to fix everything and youre ready to try something new.

* you want your life and yourself back.

* you know the past doesnt equal the future.

* youre ready for more.

* you want to live the life that you desire, not a watered-down version of it.

* most importantly, youre ready to fix your shit.

This book is not for you if

* you think that there is a magic pill and it will all miraculously get better by itself.

* youd prefer your life to be different but you dont really want it enough to make any real effort.

* youre not prepared to change what youre doing or how youre doing it even though its getting you nowhere.

* you think that by reading this book alone, your life will change. It wont.