Act 3 : The Art of Growing Older by Adrian and Judy Reith | Blog Tour Extract #Act3 @Act3Life

Publisher: Unbound
Available in ebook and paperback (2 April 2020)
320 pages

ABOUT THE BOOK

At last, the life you want . . . post 50

We re living longer, in better health, with higher expectations than any generation in human history. With an extra adult chapter to look forward to, what will you do? Who else could you be? How will you evolve the best plan for your life between 50 and 80?

Judy and Adrian Reith have decades of experience in helping people see hidden possibilities, clarify their goals and achieve life-changing results. In Act 3 they suggest practical steps to make your life more fulfilling as you age. From the ground up this book will help you identify and strengthen the four roots you ll need for a happy and successful third act. It illustrates how your attitude, purpose, relationships and values are keystones to a life without regret.

Act 3 gives tools and tips to help you focus on what matters, with chapters on Work, Home, Money, Health, Play, the World and Friends. You’ll be inspired by original stories of those who have changed their lives after 50 and be able to re-imagine your future, and so get the life you want . . . at last.

Welcome to my turn on the blog tour for Act 3: The Art of Growing Older. As someone fitting the post 50 age range, I was intrigued by the book and interested to see if it might offer any help to me. My thanks to the authors and publisher for allowing me to share an extract and to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for the place on the tour.

EXTRACT

External Prosperity vs Inner Prosperity

Most people pay most attention to the external stuff. But whatever your external circumstances, a change to your internal prosperity will improve your ability to see and deal with the external things like Money, Health, Work and Relationships.

Act3 – How To Live A Better Life After 50 is practical.

We’ll start with a practical guide to gathering your SELF. Making sure you have all you need for the journey.

Why Can’t I Gather My Self Myself?

Actually you can. And you will. Our task is to provide tools and encouragements to help you to re-find your self. This leads to a new ability to Act & Think Differently for yourself.

Act differently. Think differently. Feel differently.

‘A day is over and so much of it was wasted on things that meant too little to you, duties and meetings from which your heart was absent. Months and years pass and you fumble on, still incapable of finding a foothold on the path of time you walk.

A large proportion of your activity distracts you from remembering that you are a guest of the universe, to whom one life has been given. You mistake the insistent pressure of daily demands for reality and your more delicate and intuitive nature wilts. When you wake from your obsessions, you feel cheated.

Your longing is being numbed and your longing becomes merely external. Your way of life has so little to do with what you feel and love in the world. But, because of the many demands on you and responsibilities that you have, you feel helpless to gather your self; you are dragged in so many directions away from true belonging.’

— John O’Donohue, ‘Eternal Echoes’

A Person Is Like The Titanic

The Captain on the bridge believes he is in sole charge of the ship. Yet he doesn’t have direct control, as a car driver does. Any order he gives needs to be executed by others. Orders are issued: to the helmsman to steer; to the engine room for speed, forward, back, stop or start; to lookouts for eyes; to radio operators for ears; to deck hands to arrive or leave port. What could possibly go wrong?

Use Act3 – How To Live A Better Life After 50 To Control How You ACT In Act3

It will help you increase self-awareness and self-control.

It will help you discover what is really driving your direction, behaviour and choices, what you say and do in life. And give you back the means of control.

Then you’ll get more of what you really want in Act 3.

Feel Cheated?

If you feel cheated by life – having done all the stuff you’re supposed to – you are certainly not alone. We’ll address that.

How?

We Will Go Below Deck

The more you pay attention to your feelings, habits, beliefs, values, hopes, fears, emotions – what’s below decks in the Titanic metaphor – accept and understand them, the quicker you’ll master them and find your direction.

We’ll work this principle through all practical areas of your life, so you’ll get positive and satisfying change in the areas of Act 3 that matter most to you.

Remote Sort-of-Control Will Become Direct Control

As you begin to Act & Think Differently, as Albert Einstein said above, you’ll find new outcomes. These will lead to further, even more positive outcomes. Better than you could hope for. Imagine that.

Write, Draw, Scribble, Doodle, Make Notes In This Book

This is your manual. Use it as a journal. Break the rules. Write in it. Draw in it. Act & Think Differently. The feelings will follow.

Pay Attention To Metaphors You Draw In The Book

Metaphors will be powerful for you. Pay attention to them. It’s the stuff from below decks telling you something important. Abandon ones that don’t resonate. Seize the ones that have power for you, as this client did:

“Deciding to put my mother in a care home felt like stumbling about in a scary dark wood. By talking about my difficult feelings of loss and anxiety the feelings became more manageable. I began to see pathways, and they led to a clearing in the wood. I felt then that it was going to be alright. She would be safe.”

There’s No Rush.

We’ve put quotes, illustrations, and stories to ponder to help you connect with your real self. Stop. Breathe. Listen to yourself. Go at your own pace.

Take a walk.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Judy Reith has been a coach and parenting expert for twenty years. She draws on her professional training in child development, coaching and parent education to help thousands of parents, some of whom are also entering Act 3. She is the author of 7 Secrets of Raising Girls Every Parent Must Know; Be a Great Mum and Transform Living with Teenagers. Adrian Reith ditched a successful career as a writer and director in advertising to help people unscramble their mental spaghetti. Having re-trained as a coach he works with business and organisational leaders and individuals to help them make the most of life and work. He and Judy live together in Cambridge. @Act3Life

Author Links:
Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Book Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Waterstones