During my divorce recovery journey, I read all kinds of books.  I read every book I thought would be helpful in recovering from divorce.  And many of them were helpful.  I used the lessons of others to help myself get better.  In fact, I wrote a book of my own to add to the list of resources (and it’s a book you definitely should read!)   Here’s one message of hundreds I’ve received.  “After a 33 year marriage, my divorce was final in late Dec.  Since I just couldn’t seem to move on – even with lots of therapy – a friend suggested your book.  WOW!  Why didn’t I have this sooner?  I believe your book really saved my life.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.”  J   Or how about this one …  ” I thank you for the courage it took to write this book — to help other women in healing gaping wounds, to guide us on so many practical issues, to offer your loving spirit to so many.  Though you address hard issues, you slip in such terrific humor.  I love it!”

No matter who the author is, once you have gathered and made use of helpful resources, at some point you have to start formulating in your head your OWN approach to life.  Keep gathering good information wherever you can, but start putting together, and more importantly, LIVING the things you learn.  Like it says in the Bible (the greatest resource of all), it doesn’t do any good just to know the right thing,  the important thing is DOING the right actions … putting the lessons into practice day in and day out.

You can read all the books you want, but if you never get to the point of using what you learn to live your life in a better way, they aren’t much good.  But don’t just try to be what someone else tells you to be.  Hal Urban in his book Life’s Greatest Lessons made the comment, “Letting others do our thinking for us is one of the most direct routes to mediocre living.  The best approach is to use helpful resources to discover who you want to be, and then be that person!

Think for yourself.  Claim the lessons you learn for yourself.  Design the life YOU want.  Start today.  Renew your own capable mind and discover your own new strengths and find the best path of all … YOUR OWN!

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”  Romans 12:2