Jim Taylor - Change Your Lifes Direction: Break Free from Your Past Inertia and Chart a Better Future

Published by Rowman & Littlefield

An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

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Copyright 2021 by Jim Taylor

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Taylor, Jim, 1958 author.

Title: Change your lifes direction : break free from your past inertia and chart a better future / Jim Taylor.

Description: Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: Jim Taylor illustrates how our lives are like asteroids hurtling uncontrollably through space, but he instructs on the ways in which we can convert those asteroids into starships for which we provide the guidance system, pilot, engine, and fuel that can propel our lives in the direction of our own choosing toward happiness, success, and connection Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020046479 (print) | LCCN 2020046480 (ebook) | ISBN 9781538146699 (cloth) | ISBN 9781538146705 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Change (Psychology) | Self-actualization (Psychology) | Self-realization. | Happiness. | Success.

Classification: LCC BF637.C4 T39 2021 (print) | LCC BF637.C4 (ebook) | DDC 158.1dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020046479

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020046480

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

1. PART ONE
   VALUES: THE GUIDANCE SYSTEM THAT DIRECTS YOU
2. PART TWO
   SELF-ESTEEM: THE PILOT THAT STEERS YOU
3. PART THREE
   OWNERSHIP: THE ENGINE THAT DRIVES YOU
4. PART FOUR
   EMOTIONS: THE FUEL THAT PROPELS YOU
5. PART FIVE
   HARNESSING THE FOUR LIFE FORCES: CHANGING YOUR LIFE INERTIA

I first would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Samantha Sandersen-Brown for her role as my presubmission editor. Let me tell you her backstory: Samantha originally volunteered to act as a chapter assistant for my previous book, How to Survive and Thrive When Bad Things Happen. The role of the chapter assistant was to find useful research and provide quotes that supported my ideas in the assigned chapter. As Samantha embraced this role, it quickly became clear that she could offer so much more. As she reviewed the chapter to which she was assigned, Samantha not only fulfilled her basic responsibilities but also edited my writing in a way that clearly improved the chapter. Given my publishing track record, I consider myself a very capable writer. At the same time, Ive always valued the ability of my editors to make my writing even better, and I saw such an opportunity with Samantha. I reached out to her and, for only a small stipend and my undying appreciation, she agreed to edit the entirety of that book (and it was much better written thanks to her efforts). When I signed my contract with Rowman & Littlefield for Change Your Lifes Direction, Samantha immediately came to mind, and, with only a slight raise in her stipend and even more undying gratitude from me, she graciously agreed to act as my editor again. In addition to her usual editing responsibilities, Samantha took it upon herself to be my constructive critic, providing me with honest and direct feedback about the value and clarity of my ideas and letting me know when what I was writing wasnt working. Not surprisingly, Change Your Lifes Direction is much better for her contributions. So, Samantha, thank you, thank you, thank you for your generosity of spirit and time, your exceptional editing capabilities, and your keen and critical eye for cogent thinking and writing. Change Your Lifes Direction couldnt be what it is today without you.

I also would like to thank Dr. Austin Wade Wilson for his willingness to join my writing team in support of Change Your Lifes Direction as the research and quote expert. In this role, I usually look for a graduate student who is looking for experience with book writing and the chance for some mentoring from me. When Wade first reached out to me, I told him that, as an already established professional, he was overqualified. But Wade persisted, and I accepted his offer to contribute. Boy, am I glad I did. Within days, I saw the time, thought, and energy he devoted to his responsibilities, finding research and quotes that were lying well below the surface. Wade also read my manuscript with a critical eye and offered valuable insights about my ideas. Wade, I so appreciate your engagement, professionalism, and passion for the role you took on in helping to make Change Your Lifes Direction the best it could be.

Last, but decidedly not least, I want to express my love and gratitude to my wife, Sarah, and my daughters, Catie and Gracie, for their love and support of the time and energy I devote to my career and to my writing, both of which I am so passionate about.

In er tia (-nrsh):The tendency of a body at rest to remain at rest or of a body in motion to stay in motion unless acted on by an outside force; resistance or disinclination to motion, action, or change.

I n 1687, Sir Isaac Newton had an epiphany that led to his three famous and influential laws of motion:

1.Law of inertia: Every object persists in its state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed on it.

2.Law of momentum: Force is equal to the change in momentum per change in time. For a constant mass, force equals mass times acceleration.

3.Law of action-reaction: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Three hundred and thirty years later, I experienced my own eureka momenthuman beings are subject to similar laws of motion, what I call Taylors laws of human motion:

1.Law of life inertia: Every life persists on its established trajectory unless it is compelled to change course by internal or external forces.

2.Law of life momentum: The force that propels a life trajectory is determined by the individuals investment in and amount of time already spent on that course. The intensity and point in time when a force is applied determine the extent of the change in direction of the life path.

3.Law of life action-reaction: For every action taken by a person in his or her life, there is an equal and opposite reaction that maintains a lifes current trajectory.

My observation turned out to be more than an interesting metaphor. As I looked more closely at human behavior, the similarities became more startling. Like an asteroid when it first breaks away from a larger celestial body, people are set on a path by early forces including genes, parenting, and society. As defined by Taylors laws of human motion, we continue on that path, for better or worse, throughout our lives unless other forces compel us to change course. Our life inertia can carry us on a trajectory that is as arbitrary as that of the asteroid because as children we have no more influence over the direction of our life inertia than an asteroid over its course. Neither asteroids nor people choose their initial path. And, like the asteroid, we are often unaware of the course we are on or what is propelling us down that path.