A Book a Month – Explore Transform Flourish: Support and Hope for Those Who Help Others

Sabrina here! Last month, in an Instagram post I talked about how I believe we’re built for growth and development in our minds and spirits. And that one way I plan to reach my wellness goals this year is to learn through a different lens and good books help me to do that! I’m so excited about a Book a Month series!

I’m going to be honest that finding the time to read was brutal. But I managed to dive into February’s read, Explore Transform Flourish: Support and Hope for Those Who Help Others, which had been gifted to me last year from the author, Gillian Stevens. I had all intentions to read this book. It went everywhere with me in my bag. I’m so grateful I started a Book a Month series. The fact that I made my intentions public and was accountable to my InstaFam is what got me to buckle down and read. Yay!

When and Where I Read it

While the kiddos were asleep at night and I could read with no interruptions, I either sat in my couch or laid in my bed supported by my ginormous firm pillow behind my back.

How Long I Took to Read it

I read for an hour or less in the evening when I hadn’t fallen asleep while putting my kiddos to bed. It’s an easy, highly engaging read that if I had the daytime hours to pause more and reflect with no interruptions, my head would have been found buried in it. It’s a self-help book that shouldn’t be rushed through but read with intent at a steady pace. I know that I’ll be picking it up again and applying the questions and reflections as I continue my wellness journey.

Stand Out Quote

Happiness is not a destination. It is a method of life.
—Burton Hill

My Takeaways

Gillian Stevens writes as if she is right there with you as a coach and mentor providing solution-focused tools, questions to ponder, resources and words of inspiration. She had interviewed people who work in an array of sectors and used their anecdotal experiences along with her own to fill the gap in the discussions on the topic of wellness and wellbeing. This book helps readers to go boldly where they have not allowed themselves to go before around putting themselves first. It’s like a la carte experience reading this book. I was able to take what I wanted and needed and leave the rest for another time when I decide to read it through again.

This book is helping me to set an intention to focus on myself more and place my attention on what needs to shift. As I sat up in my bed or on the couch and read the questions Gillian Stevens posed, as if I was in a coaching session with her, I became clear on where I was, where I wanted to be and how to get there. For example, she encouraged readers to ask themselves:

• If I had unlimited money, time and energy, how would I like to spend my time?
• What is preventing me from spending more time doing what I enjoy?
• What is missing in my life?
• What is one small step I could take to improve my life?
• Write it down, tell someone, schedule it.

Many times, the paragraphs of the reflections from her interviews with other people who are helpers, volunteers, caregiving, parenting and supporting our parent resonated with me. I’m closer to knowing how I can do it all and still have a flourishing life – where I can have positive outcomes in my health, relationship with myself, my Creator, my husband and kiddos (family) and others.

In my opinion, there is no other book that I would want to start this series off with than Gillian Stevens’, Explore Transform Flourish: Support and Hope for Those Who Help Others. It’s not just a book, it’s a guide to a way of being during this time where we “continue on, at breakneck speed, living with the disease of busyness.”

Be well where you are!

xx

Sabrina

Outfit: Joe Fresh
Photographer: Instagram handle @focusedincorporated