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3 Books That Changed My Life Before I Had Even Finished Them
They have opened a new world for me
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
It all started when I had to write my every thought down every day for 20 minutes in a class called Education Career Supervision in college.
I never understood the meaning behind this activity, until I was introduced to The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, where she described two methods to nurture your inner child and enhance your creativity: the morning pages and the artist’s date. This book is quite thick as it includes the methods’ definitions, weekly exercises, and prompts that stretch over 12 weeks. My bookmark is still in week 5.
While I never finished the book, the morning pages were such a huge part of my college life since I spent over three years doing it religiously, until I decided to stop earlier this year.
Though writing three pages every morning did not benefit me much, I still consider this book life-changing. Thanks to The Artist’s Way, I got to know about freewriting and journaling, which I do enjoy doing daily, just not first thing in the morning and not for three pages.
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
An extremely popular book that coined the term ‘spark joy’ that I could frequently hear from lifestyle influencers.
I didn’t finish The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up because Marie Kondo’s organizing methods did not suit me. I remember stopping at page 98 when I checked the book before selling it.
One piece of advice from the book did stay with me though: keep what sparks joy.
Marie Kondo’s book marked the start of my adopting a simpler lifestyle. I began to become aware of my consuming behaviors and stopped purchasing items that I used to buy spontaneously: physical books, stationery, lipsticks, and skincare products. I donated the clothes I bought but did not wear even once and no longer roamed around fast fashion stores like H&M, C&A, or Pull&Bear. I also practice digital decluttering daily.
I only own what truly makes me happy now and my life feels much more lightweight. This…
