The Tools: Book Review

9780679644453_p0_v2_s260x420As the first half of the year comes a close, I began looking for inspiration to accomplish my goals for 2015. “The Tools: 5 Tools to Help You Find Courage, Creativity, and Willpower, and Inspire You to Live Life in Forward Motion” is the perfect book to help you finish what you’ve started in 2015.

There are five tools can be applied to any problem or situation you may encounter on your way to achieving your goal.

Authors Phil Stutz and Barry Michels, a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, respectively, outline five common issues we all experience – procrastination, grudge-holding, insecurity, anxiety and lack of self-control – and developed these tools to help move past mental blocks, break down resistance to change and  connect what they call the “higher forces.”

“Real happiness is the constant presence of higher forces in our lives.”

Their theory is that the higher forces are available to everyone, you’ve just got to tap into them. So what are they?

  1. Reversal of Desire connects to the force of Forward Motion.

  2. Active Love connects you to the force of Outflow.

  3. Inner Authority connects you to the force of Self-Expression.

  4. Grateful Flow connects you to the force of  the Source.

  5. Jeopardy connects you to the force of Willpower.

Each chapter provides an in-depth discussion of the tool with real life examples from Stutz and Michels, what you are fighting against and cues of when it’s time to use it.

If you are looking for to make an immediate change as we prepare for the second half of the year, “The Tools” is a great place to start.

Victoria LightfootVictoria Lightfoot graduated from Georgia State University in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism, concentrating in public relations. She is currently the PR coordinator at the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau and volunteers on PRSA Georgia’s College Relations Committee and co-chairs the Travel & Tourism Special Interest Group. Connect with Victoria on LinkedIn and Twitter (@Victoria_Lenese)