What Others are Saying about Evolve Your Life Mini-Books
“I loved reading the Evolve Your Life Mini-Books and am already implementing their suggestions in my life. Everything was presented beautifully. Each mini-book kept my attention throughout. The pacing and flow were great.”
-John Eskew, Library Assistant
Evolve Your Life Happiness Handbook
By Derek Ralston
Copyright 2012 Derek Ralston
Smashwords Edition License Notes:
Thank you for downloading this free ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form.
If you enjoyed this book, please visit EvolveHappiness.Com to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.
Table of Contents
Introduction
An Alternative Blueprint for Happiness
Breaking Free From Ape Values
Breaking Free From Caveman Instincts
Taking Control of Your Consciousness
13 Steps for Finding Happiness
Step 1: Understand Money and Happiness
Step 3: Step Outside of Your Comfort Zone
Step 6: Learn to Attach and Detach
Step 9: Create Flow in Your Life
Step 10: Understand Your Dreams and Subconscious
Step 11: Discover Your Life Philosophy
Step 12: Learn the Source of Happiness
Step 13: Meet Real-World Life Evolvers
Questions and Answers
Also by Derek Ralston
Notes
References
Introduction
An Alternative Blueprint for Happiness
You've heard the advice, “Go to school, get a good job, get promoted, climb the corporate ladder, and you will eventually find happiness.” All too often, people follow this society-prescribed path to success, falsely believing that it will lead them to happiness. For most, the promise of “happiness” never comes true. They are stuck in the rat race- a way of life in which people are caught up in a fiercely competitive struggle for wealth or power. Evolve Your Life provides an alternative blueprint for happiness, based on research from numerous books and scientific studies, along with my personal experience.
Since you're reading this handbook, I am assuming you are ready for a change. You live the society-prescribed path to success, but find no meaning in it. Focusing on the future, you never enjoy the present. You work long hours, and are unable to find happiness. You are living in the rat race and desperately searching for an escape.
Evolve Your Life is not meant to be a panacea, and is not relevant to all people in all situations. It is simply a blueprint for those seeking to escape the rat race and find happiness. You will need to implement this blueprint in your own life to start seeing results.
After reading this handbook, you will be ready for the Evolve Your Life: Mini-Books for Finding Happiness, which teach:
* How to break free from the downsides of socialization- the constant seeking of external goals and external approval that end up making your life miserable
* How to escape the rat race by changing your inner or outer reality
* How to create alternative income sources, step outside your comfort zone, and spend more time with your family
* How to determine if you should quit your job (or take a sabbatical)
* How to discover your own values and life philosophy
* How to stop stressing out and stop living in “fight-or-flight” mode
* How to eliminate your bad habits once and for all
* How to stop obsessing over the future and start living in the present
* How to stop being manipulated by advertisers, mass media, corporations and peer groups
My Story
Another Monday morning flight. I had been making them weekly for four consecutive years. Like the main character of the movie Up In The Air (2009), I flew to work every week. But this flight would be different. I had quit my job, written my first book, and was heading to South America. Seven months later, I would be speaking Spanish and enjoying my new way of life.
But first, let's backtrack a few years. I grew up in the Midwest, and was your average kid. I believed in the American Dream. I wanted to be liked. I wanted to be rich. I wanted to be successful. I wanted to make friends and influence people. Like most other kids, I also reacted normally to the genetic programming I was born with. I reacted in a "fight-or-flight" mode if I perceived a threat. I got stuck in "survival mode" when under stress at school or work.
At the age of 13, I was a videogame and computer nerd. I started a videogame reviews website which became very popular. I was making good money, getting free videogames, and doing what I loved. As a young teenager, it was a dream come true. After a few years, I no longer enjoyed writing and posting articles after my school. I became burnt out, traffic declined, and soon, the site was no longer popular.
What happened? My early success was built on the wrong foundations, as my core values were those of a rat racer. Even though I started the business based on my passion for videogames, as soon as it started making money, I switched to rat racer mode. This made it impossible for me to enjoy the day-to-day process of running the business.
Over the following four years, I tried to re-create the same success I had at the age of 13. By this time, I had stopped pursuing my passion and was instead pursuing money. I launched another videogame website, a skateboarding website, a dating website, and finally a healthy snacks business. All were great learning experiences but financial failures.
After these failures, I slowly slipped into the society-prescribed path to success. I went to college and studied Business and Information Systems. I studied a great deal and earned good grades. After finishing my degree, I worked in technology consulting. I was sent to corporations throughout the U.S., working long hours and traveling every week.
I had an amazing breadth of experiences in those four years. But I didn't have much free time. I was "cash-rich, time-poor." Even worse, my workaholic lifestyle gave me an adrenaline rush that kept me in “survival mode” and became an unhealthy addiction. Eventually, I realized that the society-prescribed path to success wasn't working for me. After several promotions and raises, I still wasn't happy and needed a change.
After careful planning, I quit my job and made some drastic changes in my life. To start, I authored and promoted my first book. Next, I sold almost all of my possessions. What remained fit into a carry-on bag. I traveled to South America to learn Spanish and ended up learning a different way of life. One with more focus on living in the present and a healthier work / life balance.
After escaping the rat race, I had more free time to read, learn and dream. I studied life philosophies and experimented with different ways of living. Like the character Neo from The Matrix (1999), I swallowed the red pill. I am an entirely different person now, and it would be impossible for me to revert to my old rat racer way of life. I have been transformed, and am sharing the secrets behind this transformation in Evolve Your Life.
The biggest transformation secret I learned: to find happiness you must first break free from your Ape Values and Caveman Instincts. But what are Ape Values and Caveman Instincts? And why should you break free from them?
Breaking Free From Ape Values
Ape Values are the set of values each of us has learned to fit in with society. Our family members, school teachers, and peer groups were all part of the socialization process. This process is not unique to humans: all mammals are social creatures. For example, meerkat young learn by watching and mimicking adult behavior. Adult meerkats also actively teach their pups.
One of the unintended consequences of human socialization is that we seek external approval and apply external goals to our lives. If we are to take control of our consciousness and pursue our own goals, we must learn to break free from these values.
Here are the Ape Values we are choosing to break free from:
Money- “I want to be rich”: Falsely believing that you will be happy when you make more money. Becoming a workaholic to make more money.
Things- “I want to accumulate more things”: Falsely believing that accumulating more possessions will make you happy. Valuing things over experiences.
Status / Approval- “I want to be liked and fit in”: Pursuing a career path that Mom or Dad told you to go after. Working at a job you hate to pay for your family’s high consumption. Not speaking up at work when you have a good idea, for fear of getting shot down. Falsely believing that once you obtain status, people will like and respect you. Trying to “keep up with the Joneses.” Becoming popular with lots of people, but not building close relationships with individuals.
Power- “I want to dominate”: Using others only as a means to achieve your goals. Trying to one-up others, dominate conversations. Constantly pinpointing other people’s weaknesses and failures.
Each individual has their own set of Ape Values. Some may accentuate the value of Money, others may accentuate Approval. Some individuals may not have all of these values.
People who submit completely to their Ape Values, and mistakenly believe that their happiness is obtained only by achieving external goals, are Rat Racers who never enjoy the present moments of life. Put yourself in the shoes of a fictitious Rat Racer named Jane.
Jane the Rat Racer
Jane takes the rat racer way of life to the extreme. She is an investment banker, and ever since she was young, she has tried hard to be liked and fit in. She pursued the career path that her parents told her to. She wants to be rich, and believes that she will be happy when she gets her next job promotion. She has become a workaholic to make more money, often working 80-hour weeks. She has accumulated a lot of things, but doesn't have time to use them. She spends most of her money on material possessions (ex. new car) instead of life experiences (ex. vacation).
Jane tries hard to become popular with her work colleagues. She believes that once she obtains status, people will like and respect her. She tries to “keep up with the Joneses”- her peers at work. She has a lot of acquaintances, but doesn't work at building close relationships with individuals. More often than not, she uses others as a means to achieve her goals. Sometimes she tries to one-up others and dominate conversations. She is constantly pinpointing other people's weaknesses and failures.
As you can see, Jane does not live a happy life. Even worse, Jane herself may be in denial and may not realize just how unhappy she is. She is living a life based on values that she learned from society. Unless she can break free from her Ape Values, her life will continue to be miserable.
Breaking Free From Caveman Instincts
Caveman Instincts are the set of genetic instructions each of us was born with. They give us instinctual drives such as fight-or-flight that are meant to motivate us toward activities which ensure our survival. All animals have Caveman Instincts. When the grazing zebra sees the hungry lion, its stress response is activated and it tries to escape.
Caveman Instincts were more useful to humans in the days of the caveman, when we faced real predators. In modern day society, if we are to take control of our minds and bodies, we must learn to break free from our Caveman Instincts.
Here are the Caveman Instincts we are trying to break free from:
Body and mind are always right- “Seek pleasure and avoid pain”: Becoming attached to seeking pleasure and avoiding pain.
Fight-or-Flight- “React to perceived threats”: Getting stuck in “survival mode” due to excessive stress at work. Having an argument with your spouse due to this stress, resulting in more stress.
Food- “It tastes good”: Overeating. Using food as a form of self-medication due to being unhappy with your life.
Sex- “It feels good”: Constantly being preoccupied with sex, distracting you from your personal goals. Using pornography, strip clubs, or prostitution as a form of self-medication due to being unhappy with your life.
Drugs and Alcohol- “It feels good”: Needing alcohol to let loose and have fun at social events. Using drugs as a form of self-medication due to being unhappy with your life. Getting your fix by frequenting bars, liquor stores, or drug dealers.
Caveman Instincts are not inherently bad. For example, our basic needs for sex and food are normal. Our brains are even wired so that when we obtain these basic needs, we receive small bursts of dopamine. This is the brain's way of making us enjoy activities that are good for our survival. These instincts only become bad if the dopamine becomes an addiction. Then we become so overly attached that we are not able to be content without them.
People who submit completely to their Caveman Instincts, and mistakenly believe that anything which feels good equates to happiness, are Hedonists. They are attached to seeking pleasure instructed by their genetic instincts. Put yourself in the shoes of a fictitious Hedonist named Jack.
Jack the Hedonist
Jack takes the hedonist way of life to the extreme. He is a sales representative, hates his job and is constantly stressed out. He is stuck in “survival mode” due to this excessive stress, and is quick to argue with his friends, family and coworkers. His life is empty and he seeks instant pleasure to try and fill this void. He has been in several relationships, mistaking his lust for love. Once the novelty of the relationship wore off, Jack becomes bored and he breaks up.
Jack is overweight and eats fast food every day. He overeats as a way to self-medicate his unhappiness and depression. Jack is constantly preoccupied with sex, frequenting strip clubs and prostitutes. Jack is also an alcoholic. Like food, he uses alcohol to self-medicate. Jack needs alcohol to let loose and have fun, frequenting bars and liquor stores.
Like Jane, Jack is not living a happy life. He is on the other side of the extreme, focusing on the present without thinking about future consequences. Unless Jack can break free from his Caveman Instincts, his life will also continue to be miserable.
Taking Control of Your Consciousness
You probably know plenty of Rat Racers and Hedonists in your own life. Maybe you are one yourself. But you don't have to be. You can remove the Jack and Jane characteristics from your life, take control of your consciousness and become a Life Evolver. Life Evolvers are neither Rat Racers nor Hedonists. They focus on activities that provide both present and future benefit.
Here are the values of a Life Evolver:
Freedom: “I rather have freedom of time than wealth”: Choosing free time over wealth, this person avoids the “cash-rich, time-poor” lifestyle.
Experiences: “I rather have experiences than material possessions”: Choosing experiences over material possessions. This person would rather travel the world than work 80-hour weeks to buy things they don't need.
Personally-selected goals: “I rather create goals that are meaningful to me personally, and enjoy the day-to-day process of realizing these goals”: Choosing personally-selected goals versus external goals based on Ape Values, this person enjoys the day-to-day process of realizing these goals (instead of obsessing about the past or future).
Nothing Lasts: “Life is short, the clock never stops ticking, and the time of my death will be a surprise”: Understanding the impermanence of life, this person enjoys the present and lives their life to the fullest.
Life Evolvers enjoy the present by seeking personally-selected goals built from their own personal values:
The Hedonist seeks pleasure instructed by genetic instincts, and the Rat Racer seeks society-prescribed external goals. The Life Evolver seeks personally-selected goals, versus the pleasure of the Hedonist or the external goals of the Rat Racer. How does a Life Evolver live from day-to-day? Put yourself in the shoes of a fictitious Life Evolver named Mary.
Mary the Life Evolver
Mary is an independent human resources consultant. She chooses her freedom of time over obtaining material possessions and wealth. Mary is good at what she does and enjoys her work. She is often able to choose her clients. Mary turns down those that require her to work weekends or 80-hour workweeks. She doesn't understand the “cash-rich, time-poor” lifestyle that some of her colleagues choose to live. Mary spends her free time with family and friends. She also focuses on personal growth activities. She is currently training for a marathon with her friends and has a goal of reading one book a week. These activities have intangible benefits- they make her better at her work and a happier person.
Mary prioritizes her life experiences over material possessions. She doesn't care much about the car she drives or house she lives in. She would rather save her money to spend 3-6 month vacations every year. Mary knows that life is short, the clock never stops ticking, and her time of death will be a surprise. Therefore, she chooses to enjoy the present versus living in the past or future. Choosing personally-selected goals rather than the external goals that society dictates, she enjoys the day-to-day process of realizing these goals.
Mary's friend Tim appreciates her way of life, but he is a family man. He doesn't want to take 3-6 month vacations, he just wants to spend more time with his family. Tim decides to use the same strategies as Mary to create a better work / life balance for himself. By changing his work and leisure habits, he becomes a much happier person, and has more time to spend with his family.
Mary broke free from her Ape Values and Caveman Instincts. So did Tim. The blueprint is here for you to follow as well. Whether you are a single city dweller stuck in the rat race, or a family man (or woman) unhappy with your work / life balance, Evolve Your Life can help.
13 Steps for Finding Happiness
Based on a combination of extensive research and personal experience, I have discovered thirteen steps for finding happiness. Each is linked with breaking an Ape Value or Caveman Instinct and taking control of your consciousness. The steps are outlined here, and detailed in Evolve Your Life: Mini-Books for Finding Happiness.
Step 1: Understand Money and Happiness
Are you happier when you have more money? According to happiness research, no. This step teaches you how to let go of your false beliefs about money and learn research-proven ways to become happier. It also helps you break free from the Ape Value of Money- “I want to be rich.”
You’ll need Money and Happiness Mini-Book to complete step one and learn:
* Why making more money won't make you happier
* Why acquiring more things won't make you happier
* Why winning the lottery won't make you happier
* The three major determinants of happiness
* How you can become happier permanently
Download Money and Happiness: Why Winning the Lottery Is Not the Answer at EvolveHappiness.Com or eBook retailers
Step 2: Escape the Rat Race
How can you escape the rat race? Should you change your job? Or can you keep it, while making smaller changes to your daily habits and ways of thinking? This step explores both options, and teaches you when each is appropriate for escaping the rat race. It helps you break free from the Ape Values of Money- “I want to be rich”, Things- “I want to accumulate more things” and Status / Approval- “I want to be liked and fit in.”
You’ll need Escape the Rat Race Mini-Book to complete step two and learn:
* How to escape the rat race by changing your inner reality and daily habits
* How to escape the rat race by changing your outer reality using the emergency exit approach
* How to overcome your addiction to the rat race and workaholic lifestyle by creating healthy work habits
* How to overcome your bad leisure habits and addiction to mass media by creating healthy leisure habits
* How to create personally-selected goals for work and leisure
Download Escape the Rat Race: Change Your Mind or Take the Emergency Exit at EvolveHappiness.Com or eBook retailers
Step 3: Step Outside of Your Comfort Zone
How can you face your fears, take risks, and change your daily routines to grow? This step teaches you how to become knowledgeable about your fears and overcome them by taking small steps outside of your comfort zone. It helps you break free from the Ape Value of Status / Approval- “I want to be liked and fit in.”
You’ll need Your Comfort Zone Mini-Book to complete step three and learn:
* How to determine the source of your fears
* How to deal with your fears and create a mantra to help you step outside your comfort zone
* 12 daily exercises for stepping outside of your comfort zone
* Mastery exercise for stepping outside of your comfort zone
Download Your Comfort Zone: Step Outside It, Face Your Fears and Grow at EvolveHappiness.Com or eBook retailers
Step 4: Start Moonlighting
How can you create alternative sources of income while keeping your day job? This step teaches you how to start moonlighting and gain more independence from your job. It helps you break free from the Ape Value of Status / Approval- “I want to be liked and fit in.”
You’ll need Modern Moonlighting Mini-Book to complete step four and learn:
* The truth about employees versus entrepreneurs, including the research-proven tradeoffs for each type of work
* How to determine if moonlighting is a good option for you
* How to deal with your current employer when you are moonlighting
* How to brainstorm your moonlighting business
* How to search for a market and micro-test your moonlighting business idea
* How to create and launch your moonlighting business
Download Modern Moonlighting: Keep Your Day Job, Make Extra Money, Do What You Love at EvolveHappiness.Com or eBook retailers
Step 5: Quit Your Job
How do you decide if you should quit your job or take a sabbatical? This step guides you through making the decision to quit, and what to research before quitting. It helps you break free from the Ape Values of Status / Approval- “I want to be liked and fit in.”
You’ll need Quit Your Job Mini-Book to complete step five and learn:
* How to determine whether or not your should quit using a proven framework for quitting
* The stages of work, and how to determine if you are in a dead-end job
* How to plan for quitting strategically
* How to overcome your fears of quitting
* How to deal with reactions from friends and family after quitting
* How to budget your money after quitting
* How to find health insurance after quitting
* How to spend your free time efficiently and find the right work / volunteer / life balance after quitting
Download Quit Your Job: Decide When to Leave and What to Do After at EvolveHappiness.Com or eBook retailers
Step 6: Learn to Attach and Detach
Attachments start when one part of your life becomes more important than the rest (e.g. work, relationship). This creates an imbalance, as all of your joy comes from one thing. How can you learn to enjoy your attachment when you can, and detach from it when you cannot? You must learn to Attach and Detach. This step helps you break free from the Caveman Instinct of Body and mind are always right- “Seek pleasure and avoid pain.”
You’ll need Attach and Detach Mini-Book to complete step six and learn:
* How to create balance in your life
* How to enjoy a person or thing when you can (attach), and detach from it when you cannot
* How to create more fulfillment by committing 100 percent to whatever you are doing in your life
Not Released: This mini-book has not yet been released. Sign-up for the mailing list at EvolveHappiness.Com to be notified when it becomes available.
Step 7: Eliminate Bad Habits
How can you eliminate bad habits once and for all? This step teaches how to break bad habits permanently by getting out of autopilot mode. It helps you break free from the Caveman Instincts of “It tastes good” and “It feels good.”
You’ll need Eliminate Bad Habits Mini-Book to complete step seven and learn:
* Why closely examining your friendships and making changes in small increments are important when breaking a bad habit
* How to mentally rehearse your day without the bad habit
* How to create an anti-bad-habit habit
* How to focus energy on a positive habit that will replace the bad habit, versus the bad habit you are trying to resist
Not Released: This mini-book has not yet been released. Sign-up for the mailing list at EvolveHappiness.Com to be notified when it becomes available.
Step 8: Live in the Present
Reflect on the most enjoyable moment of your life. Did this moment involve thinking, or were you completely focused on an activity? Chances are, you were completely focused on an activity. This step helps you become intensely conscious of the present moment, and create a gap in thinking in which you are highly alert and aware. It helps you break free from the Caveman Instinct of Fight-or-Flight- “React to perceived threats.”
You’ll need Live in the Present Mini-Book to complete step eight and learn:
* How to turn your normal daily activities into enjoyable states of awareness
* How to practice meditation
* How to practice mindfulness
Not Released: This mini-book has not yet been released. Sign-up for the mailing list at EvolveHappiness.Com to be notified when it becomes available.
Step 9: Create Flow in Your Life
Flow is the state in which a person is immersed in an experience that is rewarding in and of itself, feeling deep enjoyment, creativity, and a total involvement in life. For example, playing a game of tennis, cooking a meal, or running in a race. This step shows you how the state of flow can be controlled and not simply left to chance. It also helps you break free from the Caveman Instinct of Fight-or-Flight- “React to perceived threats.”
You’ll need Create Flow in Your Life Mini-Book to complete step nine and learn:
* How to create goals and a clear sense of purpose to attain flow
* How to understand the signs of overexertion (anxiety) and underexertion (boredom) and focus on staying between them
* How to achieve the highest level of enjoyment out of any daily activity
Not Released: This mini-book has not yet been released. Sign-up for the mailing list at EvolveHappiness.Com to be notified when it becomes available.
Step 10: Understand Your Dreams and Subconscious
Life is short. And on average, you will spend over one third of your already-short life asleep. Can your sleep time be tapped in to and put to better use? In this step, you learn how to acquire self-knowledge from your dreams and subconscious mind. It helps you break free from the Caveman Instinct of Body and mind are always right- “Seek pleasure and avoid pain.”
You’ll need Understand Your Dreams and Subconscious Mini-Book to complete step nine and learn:
* How your sleep time can be put to better use by recording and interpreting your dreams
* How to remember your dreams and improve dream recall
* How to gain self-knowledge from your dreams and put it to use in your waking life
Not Released: This mini-book has not yet been released. Sign-up for the mailing list at EvolveHappiness.Com to be notified when it becomes available.
Step 11: Discover Your Life Philosophy
You may not know it, but you already have a life philosophy. Your life philosophy is the way you look at situations and handle them. This is your basic attitude towards life. This step helps you discover your current life philosophy. It then helps you refine it, and teaches you the signs to look out for when a tune-up may be necessary. It helps you discover your own life values, using the Life Evolve values as a starting point.
You’ll need Discover Your Life Philosophy Mini-Book to complete step eleven and learn:
* How to discover and refine your current life philosophy
* How to discover your own personal set of values
* How to link these values to your personally-selected goals
Not Released: This mini-book has not yet been released. Sign-up for the mailing list at EvolveHappiness.Com to be notified when it becomes available.
Step 12: Learn the Source of Happiness
There are two basic ideas used to define the source of happiness. The first is that happiness comes from getting what you want; the second is that happiness comes from within. Both of these ideas are wrong. To find true happiness, you must cultivate both your internal reality (happiness comes from within) and external reality (happiness comes from getting what you want).
You’ll need Learn the Source of Happiness Mini-Book to complete step twelve and learn:
* Why the idea that happiness comes from getting what we want is incomplete
* Why the idea that happiness comes from within is incomplete
* How to find true happiness by cultivating both your inner and outer reality- based on research-proven studies in psychology
Not Released: This mini-book has not yet been released. Sign-up for the mailing list at EvolveHappiness.Com to be notified when it becomes available.
Step 13: Meet Real-World Life Evolvers
Thomas Edison was a Life Evolver. Steve Jobs was as well. In this step, you are provided with five profiles of individuals who have learned to become Life Evolvers. Each individual is a Life Evolver role model.
You’ll need Meet Real-World Life Evolvers Mini-Book to complete step thirteen and learn:
* How to apply Life Evolver values to the real world
* Role model examples of Life Evolvers in the real world
* Examples of both modern day and historical Life Evolvers
Not Released: This mini-book has not yet been released. Sign-up for the mailing list at EvolveHappiness.Com to be notified when it becomes available.
Questions and Answers
Do I need to be single to make use of Evolve Your Life? Am I expected to quit my job and travel the world? No. Evolve Your Life is useful for both single individuals and those with families. You aren't expected to quit your job and travel the world. You can use Evolve Your Life mini-books as a blueprint to find happiness in your own way, such as spending more time with your family (or quitting your job and traveling the world).
Why do Ape Values exist? Ape Values are part of the process of socialization. They exist to make people dependent on social controls. This makes people respond predictably to social rewards and punishment, which creates a stable society. Ape Values are not always to our personal advantage.
Why do Caveman Instincts exist? Caveman Instincts are part of our genetic code. They exist for the preservation of our species. Much like Ape Values, they are not always to our personal advantage.
Where did the term Life Evolver come from? Most people are already familiar with the term life hack: anything that solves an everyday problem in a clever or non-obvious way. The productivity blogs Life Hacker and Stepcase Lifehack popularized the meme. Building off of this familiar term, a Life Evolver is an individual who makes positive, sustainable changes in his or her life. The Life Evolver blog at LifeEvolver.Com has been maintained since 2008.
Also by Derek Ralston
The following are available at EvolveHappiness.Com and eBook retailers:
Money and Happiness: Why Winning the Lottery Is Not the Answer
Are you happier when you have more money? According to happiness research, no. This mini-book teaches you how to let go of your false beliefs about money and learn research-proven ways to become happier.
Escape the Rat Race: Change Your Mind or Take the Emergency Exit
How can you escape the rat race? Should you change your job? Or can you keep it, while making smaller changes to your daily habits and ways of thinking? This mini-book explores both options, and teaches you when each is appropriate for escaping the rat race.
Your Comfort Zone: Step Outside It, Face Your Fears and Grow
How can you face your fears, take risks, and change your daily routines to grow? This mini-book teaches you how to become knowledgeable about your fears and overcome them by taking small steps outside of your comfort zone.
Modern Moonlighting: Keep Your Day Job, Make Extra Money, Do What You Love
How can you create alternative sources of income while keeping your day job? This mini-book teaches you how to start moonlighting and gain more independence from your job.
Quit Your Job: Decide When to Leave and What to Do After
How do you decide if you should quit your job or take a sabbatical? This mini-book guides you through making the decision to quit, and what to research before quitting.
The Two Week Lucid Dreamer: Your Fast-Track to Dreaming Consciously
Lucid dreaming is being aware you are dreaming while dreaming. It can be used to tap into your subconscious mind for fun, self-knowledge and personal growth. The Two Week Lucid Dreamer is an accelerated course targeted for lucid dreaming beginners who are looking for the fast-track to dreaming consciously. The course includes eBook with step-by-step instructions on how to dream consciously in two weeks or less.
Notes
Ape Values and Caveman Instincts: Ape Values are the set of values each of us has learned to fit in with society. Caveman Instincts are the set of genetic instructions each of us was born with. The concept of breaking free from Ape Values and Caveman Instincts was something I originally wrote about in a series of blog posts titled Breaking Free Series (Ralston, 2008, August 8). See Csikszentmihalyi (2008), where these concepts are discussed, described as Social Conditioning and Genetic Programming. See also Branden (1985) for concepts of intellectual independent and choosing your own values, principles, and goals.
Hedonists and Rat Racers: Hedonists focus on the present and ignore future negative consequences of doing so. Rat Racers are the opposite, they keep their eye on the prize but not the journey. Ben-Shahar (2007) discusses these two opposite personality types in his book Happier. He asserts that we can be happier by focusing our time on activities that provide both present and future benefit.
Life Evolvers: Life Evolvers are individuals who make positive, sustainable changes in their lives. Life Evolvers enjoy the present moments of life. Following Ben-Shahar's assertion for becoming happier, Life Evolvers focus on activities that provide both present and future benefit. See Ben-Shahar (2007). I coined the term Life Evolver after launching my blog LifeEvolver.Com on July 4, 2008. Most people are already familiar with the term life hack: anything that solves an everyday problem in a clever or non-obvious way. The productivity blogs Life Hacker and Stepcase Lifehack popularized the meme. The term Life Evolver builds off of this familiar meme.
References
Ben-Shahar, T. (2007). Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment. McGraw-Hill.
Branden, N. (1985). Honoring the Self: Self-Esteem and Personal Transformation. Bantam.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2008). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. 1st Edition. Harper Perennial Modern Classics.
Ralston, D. (2008, August 8). Breaking Free Series. Life Evolver. Retrieved October 1, 2011 from http://www.lifeevolver.com/breaking-free-series/