Sophia

American author Will Durant claimed that, "we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." I like to think that this applies to love, too. Love is not something we do once and check off the list. "To love" is a verb, not a passive attitude but a living, breathing discipline that relies on our consistent cultivation.

A collection of the popular 21-Day Challenge Series.

Let's start with a thought experiment. Take a moment to imagine yourself, only a supremely confident version. Think of how you'd be at work, at home, with those you love and those you don't. Think of all the things you'd do differently. Now, this is the important thing: You can feel this way right now. You can feel brave and confident and full of a sense of your own self-esteem right now, just as you are.

The dieting industry makes it seem like losing weight is some sort of rocket science. And so it's understandable that when someone seems to stay slender, it must obviously be because they're just naturally that way. By accident, even. We assume some special innate characteristics mean they get to run circles around the laws of physics, eat junk food, and end up with flat abs. The truth, though? Nobody is naturally thin.

By living a more minimalist lifestyle, you invite calm and quiet into your daily life, you become more efficient, and you take action with more conviction than before. You don't fall prey to cheesy advertising, and you make your own goals. You think of money as a tool to reach your goals, and not the goal itself. Being minimalist in today's world can feel a bit like swimming upstream. This book will be a good starting point, a catalyst, and maybe even a kick in the pants if you've had enough of chaos, mess, and disorganization in your life.

True happiness is an "inside job". Look at a happy person's life and you don't see any magic or unicorns. There's nothing in them that isn't also in you. Though external realities can certainly play a role, happiness doesn't spring from what you have, what happens to you, the situation you are in, where you are, or anything else. Happiness doesn't have much to do with money, with achievement, or with possessions, because plenty of people have all three and are still not happy. In this guide, we'll approach happiness not as something you have, but something you actively do.

Productive people don't have any more time in their days than you do, and they certainly aren't busier than you are. The main difference is focus. A productive person has a way to cut through life's clutter and nonsense and make sure that most of his or her efforts go to the good stuff - fulfilling work, relationships, self-improvement...anything he or she values, really.

The present moment is a strange place. We are all trapped here, really, and there is utterly no other place to be, yet so few of us take a moment to stop and have a look around. The future and the past all exist in the mind. They are only ever memories, dreams, little flickers in the electrified meat we generously call our brains. The only thing that is real is the moment that is happening right now. Learn how to practice mindfulness and create more calm, joy and focus in your life TODAY! Are you ready to take the challenge?

True happiness is an inside job. Look at a happy person's life, and you don't see any magic or unicorns. There's nothing in them that isn't also in you. Though external realities can certainly play a role, happiness doesn't spring from what you have, what happens to you, the situation you are in, where you are, or anything else. In fact if it were easy to be happy, this book would be a very short one!

Even if you can't meet the expectations of others on a daily basis, don't excel at anything, or don't look like a Victoria's Secret model, everyone should be treated with respect, understanding, love, and acceptance - including you.