“How To Make Sure Your Life Doesn’t Suck" A Different Kind Of Guide To Navigating The Ups And Downs Of Life. Foreword by Michael Neill an internationally renowned Transformative Coach and best-selling Hay House author. This is not your typical self-help book. It was not written to stuff your head with more “to-do” lists, strategies, secrets that turn out not be secrets, “woo-woo” lingo you cannot understand or relate to, techniques we all eventually give up on, or calls to just “think positive” 24/7. This book was written to help you look at your thoughts, your feelings, yourself, and your life in a fundamentally different way. It will show you how you can navigate through tough moments so you can experience more peace of mind regardless of your circumstances. It will help you re-discover who you truly are. It will show you why you don’t need to think positive and can still be all right. It will help you embrace your humanness. When you read it with an open heart and an open mind, this book is going to be a catalyst for your own unique epiphanies and insights. Dr. Maggie Gilewicz, aka Dr. Maggie G., is a Sociologist and a Transformative Coach. She helps people from all walks of life understand and navigate their feelings, and see themselves and their lives in a fundamentally different way by sharing the new understanding of mind often referred to as the “inside-out understanding,” or the “three principles.” She is passionate about helping young adults design meaningful and fulfilling lives. Otherwise, she lives in London, loves to travel, and sing songs by Ella Fitzgerald after a couple of glasses of wine. If you would like to explore the topics raised in the book and more, please subscribe to her podcast “How To Make Sure Your Life Doesn’t Suck With Dr. Maggie G.” You can follow her on Twitter at @maggiegilewicz and Facebook @drmaggieg Visit her website www.drmaggieg.com
I've read many self-help books through the years but none quite like this one. Maggie Gilewicz writes in a personable and relatable manner and doesn't add tons of lingo that the average person won't understand. The inside-out theory is something that feels attainable and beneficial at living a life that doesn't suck. I found myself highlighting so much on every single page that I may as well have highlighted the whole thing. This will be a book I return to many, many times through the years as it's full of reminders that we can all use on a daily basis. It really drives home the point that our feelings are valid and okay. We don't have to run or hide from uncomfortable feelings nor do they define us or our lives.
Learning that reality is thought-based has been pretty life changing for me. I've read a handful of "self-help" books over the years and they leave me feeling renewed and excited to get to work. But that's the problem: they take work. I was immediately drawn into this book because early on the author says those exercises were too much work for her long-term and I felt better knowing I wasn't the only one who couldn't stick to that. And that there's an alternative way to look at things.
I will have plenty of low days but not focusing on the why is a huge relief. I feel as though I can go forward a little lighter, a little less stressed. Knowing the low/bad times will pass in time while I ride them out.
Thank you Dr. Maggie G for writing this awesome book!
I was delighted to receive a copy of Dr. Maggie G’s book prior to publication. I felt honored to peer into the mind of such a brilliant woman. This book is not only enlightening but it’s also encouraging. She provides a whole new way of looking at things. Her delightful personality as well as her caring nature shines through her words. While reading, I felt as though she was talking to me as a kind friend would. I highly recommend this masterpiece of a book to everyone.
Dr. Maggie Gilewicz is a breath of breath air. She writes in a humourous and natural way and comes across as genuine and authentic. You might worry that a book like this is going to preach or talk down to you, but instead what you feel is connected. This made me smile and gave me some things to think about.
The author describes this as "A different kind of guide to navigating the ups and downs of life." If, by "different" we think "common sense," then we've cracked it. Yes, the techniques and advice are certainly different from the more traditional and overblown self-help books. And that's what makes Maggie Gilewicz's excellent book stand out from the pack and truly merit the 5* I've given it.
Without giving anything away through spoilers, all I'll say is that each chapter is devoted to guiding us to peace of mind, whatever our circumstances.
For example: you don't have to change anything to see everything differently; create your own definition of success; don't wait for the world to change; do more of what you want and less of what you think you should; and the two most powerful chapters for me personally, our thoughts and our feelings are not as big of a deal as we're used to thinking; and what people say or think has nothing to do with you.
The well-written, intelligently thought-out advice takes us through changing our mind set to achieve what the author calls "true, sustainable change" with, in essence, only three simple ingredients.
Whether you believe in self-help books or not - if your life sucks and you don't want it to, this is a must-read. Alternatively, if your life doesn't suck, and you want it to stay that way, this is a should-read.
Overall, it shows that THOUGHT is truly our winning card. And it's "what" and "how" we think that counts - not the why. This book shows us how to play that life-changing card.
This book has been truly transformative for me. I have read many self help books over the years and one of the things I loved about this one was that it wasn’t trying to tell me what to do, but rather, “this is what has worked for me”. It is written with clarity, compassion and honesty and its message is one that I believe can reach out to anyone and everyone. However I would like to concentrate on what it has done for someone with a mental health illness.
As an overthinker who has suffered from severe depression and anxiety, and who has spent their lives with crippling insecurities, feeling like they are unworthy of being liked, this book came into my life at a time when I was feeling very scared and lost. It has taught me to look at how I react to my thoughts about myself and others, in a completely different way, and I believe that the changes it has already helped me achieve have set me on a different path. I don’t just believe this book can change lives, I honestly believe it can save them. I feel like I am moving towards a kind of freedom. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Every once in a while a book comes along that you can call life changing, 'How To Make Sure Your Life Doesn't Suck' is that book. In easy to follow, understand, and digest. Dr. Maggie has written a masterpiece that has completely changed the way I think, suffering from P.T.S.D. this book has been LIFE CHANGING!
What I like most about this book is that she is straight and to the point, unlike most SH books I've read Dr. Maggie doesn't go on and on and on, she makes her point, leaves it and moves on.
She's real...
She doesn't promise you some "pie in the sky" or "only think good thoughts" she's real. She's taught me how to live in "this" moment and survive. Great book! Highly recommend.
Instantly Accessible … A Great Read for Quarantine
Dr. Maggie has written a book that you'll mark up/highlight/take note of and return to for the kernels of truth filled throughout. Finding the pieces of you within a book is helpful, rather it's fiction or non-fiction, it is this discovery which allows for exploration and growth. For instance this used to be me once upon a time- "...but there is a lot of truth in the fact that “self-help” was largely ridiculed in academic circles. It’s crazy when I think about it now because the people (myself included) who were most judgemental about those books had never read one (or certainly not many). But this is what happens when we are not open-minded, when we dismiss something out of hand without much knowledge about it."
And talk about things finding you when you need it, I've had Dr. Maggie's book for sometime but life has been busy but more and more I'd been falling on catching myself, recognizing I need to 'be still' more, and it was during one of these moments that reading this book further cemented the journey I'd been taking when it came to life.
Dr. Maggie has gathered all that she has learned through books and her own life to make something very accessible to the everyday person (rather they are skeptic or spiritual). I feel there is something here for everyone. As with any book or teaching it's best for you to take what resounds with you and leave the rest. Different things come to us at certain times in our life, we all have our journeys to walk, and not all concepts will ring true of life, things reach us where we are at that very moment... it is the present. Our collective present, for many, can seem very disorienting which is why reading this now is a great opportunity. To be more 'inside-out' with our Self.
I feel there are many takeaways, lots that I have been spouting and/or working on for years myself, but really if we all took a moment to 'be still', 'pause' and listen... To try to understand and be open to our Self [and others], how much better a species we could be when we pull back. Less reactionary. Judging less. " It’s much easier to judge than to try to understand. It is much easier to react and to condemn straight away. It’s much more difficult to try and understand a person or their situation..."
Do the work is something I often say/remind myself of. The mental benefits are worth it... because life can suck less.
“By all means, read and listen to others, but always remember to check-in with yourself, to see whether what you read or hear truly resonates and feels right to you.”
I have to say, all of the concepts and ideas presented by Dr. Maggie Gilewicz in How to Make Sure Your Life Doesn’t Suck: A Different Kind of Guide to Navigating the Ups and Downs of LIfe resonated with me on a deep level because my own life experiences and ‘aha’ moments coincide with Gilewicz’s ‘inside-out’ view of reality.
With real-life examples and easy to understand language, Gilewicz explores the concept of our thoughts being the source of how we experience everything around us. It is a concept that I wholeheartedly believe in.
I’ve been told that one of the reasons I excelled as an addictions counsellor was that I have a calmness about me – that when I walk into a room, a sense of tranquillity descends. I attribute this calmness directly to the ideas Gilewicz writes about. Do I have depressing or negative thoughts? Of course, I do. I live in a state of constant pain. There are often times when it gets the best of me, but I don’t give these thoughts any importance and I let them pass naturally without dwelling on them.
In this day and age where we’re seeing so many suffering from anxiety and other mental health disorders, How to Make Sure Your Life Doesn’t Suck offers a view and perspective that I believe will not only help ease the suffering of many but may very well save lives.
Gilewicz presents this notion that life is an inside-out experience in a conversational style. Reading this book is like sitting down to have a cup of coffee with a good friend. For me, it reinforced my own beliefs and gave me more to think about. How to Make Sure Your Life Doesn’t Suck is a book that I recommend highly and one that I will be buying as a gift for those precious to me.
There is a vast sea of self-help advice available on the market today. Shelves overflow with best-selling titles from touted gurus in the industry. No matter the issue, there’s a cure for what ails you.
But what if there was nothing actually wrong with you?
In her new title, “How to Make Sure Your Life Doesn’t Suck: A Different Kind of Guide to Navigating the Ups and Downs of Life,” Dr. Maggie Gilewicz offers a frank, pulls-no-punches approach to the pursuit of well-being. Like a strong cup of coffee with a good friend. Her book invites the reader into a conversation about the thought processes of self-worth rather than clinically outlining steps and procedures to “make yourself feel better.” In fact, Dr. Gilewicz suggests that it is most certainly okay to NOT be okay.
It sounds rather counterintuitive for a self-help guide to say it’s okay to not be okay, but through her congenial banter, Dr. Gilewicz explains an alternative perspective on dealing with those “not-so-okay” moments. The text comes across as advice from a caring friend rather than an academic dissertation. As such, many readers may find it readily accessible and applicable to their own lives. There are no daily exercises, nor suggested tasks other than an emphasis on realization and acceptance.
With a bit of light-hearted humor and clear, conversational tone, “How to Make Sure Your Life Doesn’t Suck: A Different Kind of Guide to Navigating the Ups and Downs of Life” by Dr. Maggie Gilewicz is a worthwhile read for those searching for a fresh perspective on life.
OUTSTANDING & life-changing! The only self-help / self-empowerment book you’ll ever need.
Dr. Maggie Gilewicz (@MaggieGilewicz) is a Transformative Coach. She shares her expertise through this sharply written, astutely researched book about our thought-created reality. You are able. You are capable. You have the power to make your own truth. These are the mantras that echo throughout, that resonate with me fully.
What I love about HOW TO MAKE SURE YOUR LIFE DOESN’T SUCK is that it’s not prescriptive or rigid or overbearing in the slightest. This book is about self-help, but it’s even more about self-empowerment. Dr. Gilewicz offers a lifestyle change, a renovation of one’s thought awareness, an acceptance of both good and bad, to foster an awakening, placing the power and the control in the reader’s hands. She teaches you to let go, to tap into your own inner strength, to make your soul your home, your anchor, instead of something quantifiable. As someone who far too often struggles with purpose and fate and is-it-meant-to-be questions, I highly, HIGHLY recommend this book.
Favorite slice of wisdom:
“There is no expiration date when it comes to you and your true desires, your wants, or your dreams!”
I have and will continue to recommend it to anyone with or without ears! If you think at any point in your life... that’s it just think. Then you need this book!
If you’re anything like me your thoughts can and do control your life. Relationships, work, money and all the other good stuff. Dr.Maggie makes you see the world isn’t as scary as it sometimes appears to be.
This book came into my life at a time when I was deeply unhappy with my life (despite the fact many would see my life as being ‘good’ - I have a well paid job, living family and I am mild success as an author) I paid too much attention to my thoughts and I let them dictate my life!
I want to thank Dr. Maggie for writing a wonderful book, being open, honest and funny. She really did become a friend on the page and I will read this book again and again. I’ve read The Power of Now, The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F@ck , Reasons To Stay Alive and The Chimp Paradox and none have helped me in the same way Maggie has... ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Make your beds people 😉 just a thought...
Connected with Dr. Maggie on Twitter, bought the book and read it in one 3-hour sitting.
Read this book.
I'm always wary of self-help because it's oversimplified. Or even sort of chastises the reader for having trouble bootstrapping the way to wellness.
Maggie shows you that you're already in control...no 10-step program, recognition of the complexity of human life...it's just good to realize how your own thoughts, moods, and emotions impact what we sense, and how we react.
Do understand that even though there is reference to there not being an "objective world" beyond one's thoughts, this notion is aimed at behaviors.
If you lie naked on the U.S. Gulf coast at Noon in July with no protection from the Sun, you will get burnt no matter your thoughts, mood, or feelings on the matter. Nothing in this book claims otherwise.
I don't read self-help books but I highly recommend this one!
The ideas Dr Maggie presents in this book aren't new to me, but the way in which she talked about the inside-out theory was. This resonated with me on so many levels. It aligns so well with how I view the world and my own thought process. I found myself nodding along to much of what she discusses. Everything is simply laid out and you're not wondering what she means at any point in the book. I'm not a fan of self-help books but I picked this up because of the title and I'm so glad I did. It's really given me pause for thought and I think sometimes we all need to stop to check in with ourselves. Just to make sure we're okay. So thank you Dr Maggie for such a wonderful insight into how to make sure your life doesn't suck!
I absolutely loved this book, couldn’t recommend anything better to start the year with.
I’ve always suffered from anxiety and read a few ‘self-help’ style books which I found I lost interest in fairly quickly due to the clinical language they were written in. The language in this book is like the friend you need in your life, telling you everything will be ok. The ‘inside out’ understanding talked about I found an empowering way to look at your own life and has helped me gain control over my own negative thought patterns. I loved the examples used from personal experiences throughout and constantly allowing the reader to reflect on their own experience within that.
This is a book I would like a lot of people to read. While the words here were for the most part not new to me, I appreciated how they were phrased. It's not a self-help book as much as it is the author explaining how this new way of processing life makes, well, life suck less. And it's a simple lesson that isn't always simple to follow.
I may have picked this book up solely because I loved the title, but it certainly is more than that. Even if, personally, I'm just happy to read about someone else who has a similar process as me, though perhaps has parsed it out better than I so as to make it sensical.
Being honest with you and me, I picked this book to read simply because I like the title. It was a good choice. Much of what I read by Dr. Maggie, if I may be so bold, mirrored a lot of my personal opinion and approach to life. Granted, my mirror is not on the same level, it's more like polished brass the a true mirror. Long review short, it's truly a potentially life altering approach to yourself eggs say you navigate day to day life good times or not. It's about a 90 minute read with a lifetime payoff.
Such a great book to reference your feelings against. Your reality is your thoughts about it, there is no objective reality. It was refreshing to read about how to see that in your life and not take your own thoughts so seriously. This book, and "Feeling Great" by David Burns, are responsible for helping me take control of my own feelings, and stop blaming others. Helps to realize everything you feel starts with your thoughts about it and you don't have to take them seriously if they don't make you feel good. Great short read.
This isn't just another self-help book, it's an in-depth explanation about thoughts and feelings. Gone are the checklists, tools, and techniques to live a better life. Instead, Dr. Maggie shares an awareness that reminds us to stay chill, while life rolls along. The examples she uses show us how to accept both the ups and downs which are inevitable. I thoroughly recommend this book. Refreshing perspective and an enjoyable read.
To say this isn't a self help book wouldn't be true. It's just not 'that' type of self help book. I've tried a lot of techniques to deal with my own personal issues but always struggled with it internally, in my head. This book is the first thing I've read that my usually negative mind hasn't immediately dismissed because it makes sense to me. I've felt better about dealing with my own thoughts than I ever had before and it's all down to this amazing book.
A very insightful take on how we might change our lens and view the world around us to better our life experience. I thoroughly enjoyed the various analogies to convey the key themes of the book. If you are struggling or know of someone that might be searching for a path forward, this guide is a fresh and hopeful take. Grounded in reality. Pleasant to read. And yes, fun. I definitely recommend you give it a read.
A guide to your inner happiness. Dr. Maggie is a Twitter friend, she said I wouldn't like this book. She was wrong. I liked it. It have me something I needed. Not a "Do this, Do that" list but a place to look inside for help. Dr. Maggie is a great writer. She makes things clear but you have to think. She gives you the building blocks to the well being you crave.
Dr. Maggie's approach to dealing with life challenges to ensure a more fulfilling one is refreshing. Dr. Maggie pulls no punches and her perspective is not bogged down with clinical jargon. A quick read, it can change your perspective on how one could change their own lens to enhance their circumstances.
The world changes as we see it. This book opens the doors to seeing what is innately there in all of us. Thanks for opening your heart and changing our world for the better!
This book is a enjoyable read, relatable thoughts that we are all guilty of having but explained in a easy way, it makes you think and reflect on yourself and seeing the world and people differently
Great read, teaches you why you become sad when you read self help books. I have learned to live in the now as the future is just a picture that I paint with my thoughts.
I enjoyed this book thoroughly. The author brings a fresh approach to the “self-help”genre with the inward-out perspective on self. If you don’t want your life to suck, read this book
....that I didn't know I NEEDED. I've struggled SO much lately, as someone who lives in their head (even with aphantasia) and I have always lived the outside-in that's described here. Please read this book!
I think therefore I am. Because I think depressing things, I am depressed. Therefore, don’t let your thoughts assume too much importance. They are just thoughts, not reality. There. I think I’m over this.