Part 3
Creating the Life You Want to Live
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
—Aristotle
In this section, we’ll teach you how to use all of the mindfulness skills you have learned to build a positive, intentional, and depression-busting lifestyle. This is not going to be easy; like life itself, the road to living a vital life is full of unexpected twists and turns. You will come to forks in the road where the signage is confusing, incorrect, or perhaps entirely absent. At moments like this you’ll have to let your wise mind be your travel guide!
The lack of certainty and constant change involved in values-based living is scary and can stop you in your tracks, so it is best to plan for this likelihood. There is a well-known saying that applies here: The best defense is a good offense! Rather than wait for challenges to arise and then react to them, we are going to teach you how to develop a positive emotion lifestyle that will protect you when you sail into troubled waters. Another antidote for dealing with challenging life situations is to develop daily habits that allow you to protect yourself against the impact of unexpected depression-triggering life events. It is easier to breed these habits when you already are busy developing an active sense of positive emotional momentum, which is where we hope you end up by the time you finish this section!
You have been on a mission since you started working on this program: a life-changing quest to transcend your depression and live a meaningful life. Below you’ll find a worksheet to help you keep track of your intention to use the ideas presented in this part of the book. After you finish reading chapter 14, come back to this worksheet and use a scale of 1 to 10 to rate your intention to practice the positive emotion lifestyle and depression prevention strategies listed in that chapter. Note that we use the verb “practice.” We don’t expect that you’ll apply any of these strategies perfectly. As the saying by the great philosopher Aristotle suggests, vital actions are not isolated moments of excellence; rather, they are the result of habits you create through repeated practice. You never arrive at a vital life; it’s a direction you head toward each and every day.
Further Exploration. If your intention level for any item is at a 5 or less after reading chapter 14, we recommend that you reread that section or consider sharing it with a friend or partner. Ask the person to read it and discuss it with you. Having another person to bounce ideas off of might give you some fresh ideas about ways to put these important concepts into practice on a daily basis. If you find you’re having trouble sticking with these strategies, consider increasing your support level, perhaps seeking an ally in a health care professional, a therapist, or a priest, minister, or rabbi.