How to Be Your Own Guru
In my latest release, What Were You Thinking, Paige Taylor? my heroine leaves behind her job in the city in order to reinvent her life in a small beach town, all with the help of a book called Just Say No by the awesome Dr. Penny Groves. And while Dr. Penny is in fact a figment of my imagination, she does offer up quite a lot of nuggets of wisdom. Such as:
“It’s never too late to say no to the things that don’t serve you. Apart from chocolate. Chocolate serves us all.”
“You’re never too old to wear rhinestones, drink whisky, or mess up.”
“The best things in life begin with N. Netflix, Nachos, and No.”
The famous author even started to turn up (unannounced, of course) in Paige’s imagination to offer her all kinds of advice and guidance. And while it’s great to have your very own personal guru on hand to help reinvent your life, there are a number of things you can do on your own.
1-Meditate for one minute. Meditating is the quickest and easiest way to check in with ourselves and yet it’s something we often forget to do, or decide we’re too busy. But in twenty-four hours I’m sure that everyone can find one spare minute! Use those sixty seconds to just hang out with yourself. Because part of reinventing yourself is figuring out what you really want. And who better to answer that question than you?
2-Get dreamy. For a lot of us daydreaming seems easier than meditating, so practice daydreaming about what kind of life you want. Get really detailed on what your new life looks like. What kind of clothes are you wearing, how is your hair styled, what city are you living in? It’s like dress-ups but for big kids. And it’s fun. The more you play with the vision of your future, the more real it will become.
3-Say thank you. A lot. There’s a lot of talk about gratitude and it’s not just lip service. If we have a roof over our heads, food in our bellies and clean drinking water, then we’re incredibly lucky. So instead of taking things for granted, start looking to see just how lucky you are. And yes, this is a practice, so if it’s hard to begin with, don’t worry it will get easier.
4- Read romance books! Every single romance book teaches us about the transforming power of love, which means they’re all full of amazing examples of reinvention. Plus, you get to read about gorgeous guys and strong, wonderful women. What could possibly be better?
And in the words of the immortal Dr. Penny Groves:
“On those days when you can’t find your ass from your elbow, remember that clarity is just a no away.”
After her carefully ordered world imploded, Paige Taylor cracks up. On her tenth self-help book, it seemed like a good idea at the time to reinvent herself––move from Manhattan to the tiny beachside town of St. Clair––and take over the local bookstore.
But instead of discovering her spiritual Nirvana, she’s neck-deep in a floundering business, the locals treat her like a plague victim, and her mom’s suddenly decided to visit––with no end in sight––and keeps coming home with one surprise after the next.
Added to that pot of crazy, the one guy who sets her pulse racing has sworn off women forever. He’s got a Samsonite filled with baggage, but damn he looks good hauling it down the street. And giving her those sexy half-smiles. And tempting her to take him for a test ride.
Soon Paige discovers that reinventing herself takes more than just a change of address and a pithy quote on Instagram. She needs to face the truth about her life, and that’s something she can’t do alone.
Amanda Ashby was born in Australia but now lives in New Zealand where she writes romance, young adult and middle grade books. She also works in a library, owns far too many vintage tablecloths and likes to delight her family by constantly rearranging the furniture. She has a degree in English and Journalism from the University of Queensland and is married with two children. Her debut book was nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice award, and her first young adult book was listed by the New York Public Libraryʼs Stuff for the Teen Age. Because she’s mysterious she also writes middle grade books under the name, Catherine Holt and hopes that all this writing won’t interfere with her Netflix schedule.
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