You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will. – Stephen King.

 

I love books; hardcover, and paperbacks. I like the way they feel in my hands and look on my shelves. I even read one or two occasionally and aspire to write one someday. I’ve been living in that aspirational space for several decades, reading books about writing, accumulating outlines, saving notes and random entries, and kicking the can down the road year after year.

 

I can’t honestly say that I’m writing a book yet, because I refer to this quote about writing hanging on my board, “Writing is writing. Planning to write is not writing. Outlining… researching… talking to people about what you’re doing, none of that is writing. Writing is writing.”

 

This month’s theme is self-empowerment, and it has my attention regarding my book writing goal. There are situations and places where self-empowerment can apply to each of us in our lives, whether it’s writing a book, practicing self-care, gaining self-esteem, accomplishing goals, speaking personal truth, making decisions, taking action or finding the way to self-acceptance and self-love.

 

Over the past few years, I’ve come to understand that mindset beats motivation for empowering myself and making substantive changes in my routines and my life. Motivation comes and goes, but a shift in mindset can make the difference in staying consistent toward my goals and getting things done.

 

Inside these pages and online you’ll find perspectives about self-empowerment and mindset to consider. In the feature, Marlaina Donato speaks to parents about raising a well-rounded child by offering practical ways to build lasting life skills. Whether you have young children now or grown children or no children, this information will provide context for understanding how to help build confidence and resilience in yourself and others.

 

Our Healthy Kids department introduces an approach for offering praise to children that you may not have considered, and in an Online Exclusive, Christy Whitman is this month’s Inspiration department contributor, highlighting the importance of language and the words we use. She reminds us that the words we speak are never neutral, and our language doesn’t simply describe reality; it creates reality.

 

I recently modified my morning routine to start my day more effectively. A key element of the new routine is waiting before picking up my phone and scrolling. Starting my day with gratitude, positive thoughts and intentions sets the tone for self-empowerment on the journey to feeling good, living simply, and laughing more.