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The Art of Extreme Self-Care: Transform Your Life One Month at a Time

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The Art of Extreme Self-Care: Transform Your Life One Month at a Time, by Cheryl Richardson is a short book--just over 100 pages--but it is just packed with great information. As she has de-cluttered her home, Richardson has presented a thoughtful book without any fluff, just substance.

In 1994, Richardson saw a coach, Thomas Leonard, who introduced her to the concept of Extreme Self-Care. Extreme self-care is for women like Richardson then was, who took on the role of caretaker to the detriment of her own self. she writes: "I was a good girl, and it was sucking the life out of me."

The following are some of the concepts of Extreme Self-Care:

* Surround yourself with people who give and take
* Eliminate clutter
* Create a soul-nourishing work and home environment
* Get finances in order
* Don't make commitments based on guilt or obligation
* Make pleasure a priority

There are 12 chapters and Richardson encourages the reader to tackle one chapter a month.

Each chapter is filled with her personal stories. It is obvious Richardson has worked through each chapter herself. She even presents her own list of things she will never do, for example.

She wrote about her experience on Oprah with Louise Hay and others on the subject of the Law of Attraction. Hay recommended looking in the mirror and saying "I love you" to yourself every day. Richardson liked the advice and writes about her experience doing that in the book.

As an interior designer who knows how important the environment is on the well-being of the occupants, I really enjoyed her chapter on this subject. She writes about creating a soul-loving space: "The power of being in a space that feels fully aligned with our soul is sorely underrated." Amen!

Richardson spends most of the chapter discussing how to get rid of clutter--even going as far as saying remove 50% of it. She suggests de-cluttering one often-used room first to experience the difference it makes on how you feel. Excellent advice.

Each chapter concludes with resources for further reading, all good choices. I would like to add one (the interior designer in me...). HARMONIOUS ENVIRONMENT: BEAUTIFY, DETOXIFY & ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE, YOUR HOME & YOUR PLANET adds to the chapter on the environment by going beyond clutter and including great ways to super-charge the energy in your home to make you feel great.

If you are ready to lighten up and enjoy life, this is the book for you!

Did you know that you don't have to suffer daily just because the economy is bad, your promotion prospects are bleak, and the television keeps reporting exceptionally discouraging news? Cheryl Richardson has the right view . . . that life can be a pleasure and from that pleasure you can bring much happiness to others.

She realizes that you probably have lots of bad habits that make you miserable and suggests one change a month that cumulatively build to create the kind of enjoyable life that may exceed your wildest hopes. The changes are couched in gentle, friendly terms and illustrated with breath-taking photos.

Ms. Richardson describes how hiring a personal coach changed her life and taught her the lessons in this book. If you just follow this advice, it's like saving hundreds of dollars to get valuable secrets.

In the first month, you identify where you are deprived (such as in sleep, emotional support, personal time, energy, companionship, peacefulness, hope, and physical closeness) and start eliminating those deprivations that are most important to you.

In the second month, you begin to approve of yourself more through a series of mirror exercises where you tell yourself, "I love you."

In month three, you learn how to say "no" and do it nicely.

In month four, you re-schedule your life to feel more comfortable and do important activities that make you feel great at the optimal times.

In month five, you offload a lot of what keeps you overly busy, annoyed, and stressed by "letting go."

In month six, you decide what you will never do again . . . all of those things that make life a drudge and an annoyance. You then work on remembering to stop doing those things.

In month seven, you change where you live and work to nurture rather than annoy you.

In the eighth month, you learn to insulate yourself from things that stress you out and serve no purpose (such as watching the latest violence on the television news).

In the ninth month, you begin to pay more attention to your health and body.

In the tenth month, you work on letting anger go.

In the eleventh month, you identify and begin to spend time on something that you are passionate about.

During the last month, you develop a plan for dealing with unexpected problems and emotional blows.

Each chapter is filled with lists of books and other resources you can use to flesh out the simple concepts that the book presents.

I read this book while on a long plane flight and found myself enjoying the trip simply due to taking Ms. Richardson's approach to how I thought about and treated the experience. Instead of being a bore, I had fun!

"The Art of Extreme Self Care" is a book for everyone. As a life coach it is not always easy to convince people why they need to put themselves first. In this book ,Cheryl Richardson leads you through a process of personal growth, allowing you to make the best decisions and changes for yourself at a thoughtful and manageable pace. At the end of each chapter she suggests books, websites, media and services which can offer added support to the reader.
As you read through the book, you gain the sense that Cheryl is sharing her own personal growth journey. She takes her own advice, advice from others and is someone who "walks her own talk".

As a psychotherapist, Cheryl Richardson's book, "The Art of Extreme Self-Care" has been profoundly useful both personally and professionally in providing a practical guide to creating a balanced, self-respective life style. I definitely give this book a five out of five rating!

Carole Walker, Barrie Ontario Canada