YOUR GUIDE TO SELF-ACTUALIZATION

A life coach discusses how to develop character traits that lead to more fulfilling lives.

“What makes a person self-actualized? Simple, they have created the life they want,” says Matheson, a California-based psychotherapist and coach. Such a “juicy life,” she says, can be achieved by focusing on and strengthening the “elements that go into uncovering a healthy Self, the prerequisite to achieving happiness.” Following a pair of introductory chapters, Matheson offers 18 chapters that effectively delve into one of each of these “characteristics,” while drawing on “many personal and client stories...that exemplify the transcendence process.” Characteristics include resilience (“choose how we want to respond”); intelligence (“acquire and apply knowledge and skills” instead of being “driven by an emotional component”); boundaries (which involves “having the courage to be clear about who we are and the courage to keep ourselves safe”); and imagination (“one of the most powerful, magical tools”). A final chapter, “Coming Home,” touches on recurring The Wizard of Oz references, with Matheson noting that Dorothy had the “ability to go home all along” but “had to discover this for herself.” Throughout, Matheson encourages readers to “honestly evaluate where you are,” and over the course of this book, she provides instructive anecdotes from her own life and those of her clients’: including one in which she stresses her own need to “appropriately time things to get the best result.” Her discussions on spirituality and dream interpretation are a bit more esoteric and may not appeal to all readers. Overall, though, Matheson puts forth a rich, guided self-help journey that aims to help readers “take the responsibility to find [their] own meaning.”

Insightful essays that successfully provide food for thought about personal growth.