If you are looking for the Friday Favorite Things link up please click -> gratitude notes to add yours. Thanks!
Over the past month I’ve gotten the privilege of getting to know this amazing gal, a friend now, named Kristen Brown. It started out through our working relationship through Collective Bias, but then, after getting time to spend chatting I’ve gotten the cool honor of hearing a bit of her story and her heart. And with that came the realization that she’s as authentic as the come – and I love that character quality.
About a month ago her publicist contacted me wondering if I would be willing to be a part of a virtual book tour review for her new book The Happy Hour Effect: Twelve Secrets to Minimize Stress and Maximize Life – and to that – absolutely yes. What I love about Kristen is her heart to minimize stress in life and to live a life that is intentional, goal-driven, and yet without the incredible burden of allowing stress squash out joy. She’s real – she doesn’t promise that stress will go away – she instead, offers you practical, real, and implementable steps to deal with stress in a healthy way that allows you to thrive.
Her book, The Happy Hour Effect, is this incredible guide filled with tips, personal stories, goal planning sheets, and motivation to start intentionally looking at your life and reexamining patterns of response and then instead of just living with them changing them. It’s so easy to race through life on autodrive – this crazy cycle of accepting everything as it comes – but as I wrote yesterday in 8 Reasons Why You Should Embrace Living an Intentional Life – it comes down to ultimately a choice. Do I embrace today? Or do I allow emotions, circumstances, and negativity to sit in.
Kristen chose to rise above.
And friends, she chose this after losing her husband to a heart attack, being a single mom, and dealing with a job that was attempting to suck all the life from her. When she writes, she writes real and authentic. And as a person that has sat across the table from her I can completely assure you that she is just as real and authentic and wonderful in real life.
Her words, her encouragement, it can motivate, but beyond motivate it can truly help you look at your life, at the things that cause you stress, and it will help you determine a plan for living a life filled with more joy and intentionality.
The Happy Hour Effect is broken down into sections – the Introduction where she shares her story, Challenges, Work and Money, Core Life, Hobbies and Commitments, Dreams, and Putting it All Together. Within each of these sections are real strategies to get you looking at your life and challenges to you to start changing it for the better.
Here’s an excerpt for you about getting better sleep, because lets face it – who doesn’t need better sleep? I certainly do:
By Kristen K. Brown, bestselling author and stress expert
One of the top contributors to lost energy and heightened stress is lack of sleep. We get so caught up in other activities or watching television that we don’t go to bed at a decent hour. Or we lay awake going over and over the problems of the day or worrying about the ones facing us tomorrow. We need sleep to rejuvenate and heal our bodies and minds. The time we spend in slumber allows us the rest we require to function at our best. Here are some ideas for bedtime:
1. Shut off the television at least an hour before bedtime to let your mind rest.
2. Save your bedroom for sleep only. Don’t read, watch television, talk on the phone, play video or computer games or work in bed or your body won’t associate it as a place for rest.
3. If you are a light sleeper and easily awoken by noises, invest in a white noise machine to mask the sounds of cars, pets, weather or other family members.
4. Before bedtime, set out your clothes for the next morning and make a list of all the things you have to do the next day so you won’t lay in bed thinking about them.
5. Don’t eat or exercise right before bedtime.
6. Relax before going to bed. Try deep breathing, meditation or other relaxation exercises in the hour before bedtime.
7. Try to go to bed and get up at the same time every day including weekends. Your body will get into a rhythm making it easier to fall asleep.
Enjoy sleep and remember it is a time to heal, renew and refresh your body, mind and spirit!
Kristen K. Brown is a bestselling and award-winning author, widow mom, speaker and founder of Happy Hour Effect. Check out her books “The Best Worst Thing” and “The Happy Hour Effect: 12 Secrets to Minimize Stress and Maximize Life” at www.HappyHourEffect.com.
Kristen, thank you for blessing me with the opportunity to share your encouraging, wise, motivating, and heartfelt words with my readers. I am grateful for you.
Fabulous, right? If you’d like to see a press release graphic click HERE.
To purchase The Happy Hour for $14.95 simply click -> The Happy Hour Effect: Twelve Secrets to Minimize Stress and Maximize Life
Make sure to pop back on November 12 to enter to win a 7 Week Stress Turn Around Program valued at $1500. Click Stress Turn Around to check it out – it’s an amazing resource – it will take work, real work, but that is what living intentionally is truly about.
I’m blessed to be able to give away a signed copy of The Happy Hour Effect: 12 Secrets to Minimizing Stress and Maximizing Life {or a digital version if you prefer} along with a Minimize Stress Kit {$69 retail value} to one of you. Simply enter via Rafflecopter.
Disclosure – Affiliate Links used within this post.
One final note: as I know I have many Christians who read my site please note that this book is not Christian based. This book is excellent and their are true life changing and life motivating strategies within Kristen’s words. If you’re looking for goals and living intentionally then Kristen does an amazing job of helping you develop a plan and implement it with action.
22 comments
I need this book. Happy hour? I can’t even seem to find a minute where I am not stressed. It feels like every minute is spend thinking/planning for the NEXT minute. It’s a cycle! Sounds like this book would be a great read and inspiration to just relax! Thanks for posting! 🙂 Every time you post something I just sigh a huge sigh of relief and anticipation!
Agreed. I spend too much time being stressed/upset that I’m not appreciating the beautiful moments with my son and husband because they are overshadowed by relatively trivial things.
Anything to help reduce stress and to help lead a life of intentional living would be life-changing. I’m ready to commit to it!
I tend to get stressed when I have to rush. With two boys under three, I’ve found myself rushing most of the time. Oh, to be able to learn to breathe and step back and focus during the everyday crazies.
This book sounds like the answer to one of my prayers. Right now raising a 2 year old and an 8 week old, I feel stressed with lots of things. It ranges from the house not being orderly to the holidays creeping up on me. I think it’s all due to a severe lack of sleep; however, I feel that reading this book would help me put my life situation at the moment into perspective. Thanks for hosting such a great giveaway!
Rachel – thank you so much for sharing my work with your readers!!! As moms and women we are always thinking of others first but if we can shift that balance even a tiny bit, it does wonders for the soul!! If anyone has any questions, please reach out! I’m happy to help!
This looks like a great read!
I would LOVE to get any help I can in this area!
Sarah M
this is awesome and kudos to her for all she’s accomplished!
i could lessen self-induced stress … that would help most likely, in every other area.
I’m always trying to reduce stress. A main area I am continually trying to refine is the organization of my home – the systems that help it run smoothly.
Who’s not trying to lessen stress! This book sounds fabulous.
Sounds great! I could definitely use help in this area! I have three little girTls ( ages 3, 2 and 7 months! I feel like I’m constantly running but going nowhere!
I need to decrease my stress level everywhere – at work and home! Guessing my reflux would get better too…
I need to make the day-to-day routines a little more consistent. My kids go to school Tues/Thurs (preschool and kindergarten) and those days seem to be less stressful because of the routine, their days off get a bit scattered. Trying to keep up the house, keep up on activities with the kids, and keep decent meals on the table seem to stress me out. Looks like a great read – would love to check it out! Thank you for sponsoring this great giveaway!
If you look up stress in the dictionary you would see my picture…:)..I would love to win this to help me boost my self esteem
Lately life has been really getting to me and I need to find a way to help with some of that stress. I love that the book is broken down into sections of where you may find your stress and doesn’t just deal with stress in general.
I could definitely use this book as I have recently come to terms with the fact that I cannot do it all on my own; I need to ask for help. I could really use a decrease in stress in all aspects of my life!
I am always stressed..not about kids..mostly things out of my control. I LOVE my kids, homeschooling, no extra curric life…Dr appointments etc get me going batty..lol
Liz
One area to reduce stress is to better plan activities for my daughters and divide my time equally between them. I would enjoy reading this book to help focus on intentionally living in the moment.
I need to lessen the stress from being a working mom – just the constant something to do and somewhere to be and never enough hours in the day. This book looks great!
I need to find more me time.
I need less stress in the area of work/life balance! I have constant mommy guilt coupled with a frequent panic that I need to work more!