Book excerpt: Thriving is not a matter of chance or circumstances; it is a result of being in your life for keeps!How can you live your best self regardless of the conditions of your life? * Do you feel at the mercy of outside circumstances over which you have little or no control?* Does your stress level go up and down depending on the choices other people make?* Do you wish for something in your life that you feel is currently out of reach?I Am in My Life for Keeps: A Course in Thriving is a wise guide to put you into the driver's seat of your life. You will be guided one step at a time into ways of thinking and behaving so you will do more than survive-you will thrive.This book eliminates the obstacles to thriving through focusing on four influences on your well-being:Being with life. Being with yourself. Being in relationships. Being in the world.The top reasons why people do not thrive in their own lives:1. People keep themselves in a constant state of distraction.2. People believe everything they think.3. People listen more closely to others than to themselves.4. People underestimate the power of their happiness or misery on those around them.5. People believe they will always have tomorrow.This book will enable you to...* Make intentional decisions about your use of daily resources: time, money and energy * Be aware of your habits of thinking and behavior* Take charge of your choices* Engage in purposeful action* Enjoy the present moment* Strengthen your resilience* Take excellent care of yourself* Enlist your own helpful, internal life coach* Create happy moments* Develop your creativity