I lost it...

I lost a lot of focus recently. I realized I skipped an entire month of blogging and writing in general. Even posting on Facebook hasn't been that attractive to me lately.

I recently have been considering my situation as a whole, including my finances, personal relationships, work, career future, and a host of other concerns. I'm trying to get real about my life and take charge of things. I'm getting nowhere, but I'm trying.

I have been reading some self-improvement style books. I read a couple of books that really hit home with me.
The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. I wish I would have read this when I first heard about it, now that I've read it. I didn't buy it, mostly because my relationship, while committed, is a dating relationship, and it's only a few months old. Gary Chapman's observations are applicable to any relationship. Family, friends, spouses, even business relationships can be improved with the application of the five love languages. It's applicable to any religion or spiritual system, even though Mr. Chapman is a Christian counselor. Relationships are hard work, but learning how you express love and how your partner feels loved makes it so much easier. I've decided that when I get engaged to be married, I will ask my partner to read the book and discuss it with me. It was an eye-opener for me, and I think it would be for many others as well. There is a website where you can find a quiz that can score your love language: http://www.5lovelanguages.com. My love language is Acts of Service, followed closely by Quality Time.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money by Richard Kiyosaki is a story of how the author learned how to become rich and manage money. I am learning to be a good financial manager, but I haven't got a clue. He clues you in to many things the rich teach their children about money and wealth, and brings up an interesting opinion: the rich protect their money from the government, while most of us just work to pay the government more money. Money management is still a lot over my head (I struggle with basic budgeting), but the book is a smooth read and pretty easy to understand.

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do by Charles Duhigg. Mr. Duhigg takes the reader on a very science-based ride through how our brains work, and the cycle of habit. I need to re-read it in order to get the most out of it. There's a lot of studies that he cites and examples he uses to make his ideas clear. If you don't understand why you can't seem to break that one stubborn habit, I would recommend this book. The author gives practical advice to help break a habit permanently. The research he presents in his book about how we reprogram habits and why we can easily go back to bad habits or old habits is particularly interesting.

I'm in the process of selecting more books to read at Barnes & Noble. I'm trying to save money, so libraries and reading in the bookstore are two things I'm doing, especially since I need to make some investments in my future.