Staying Sane in an Insane World: From A to Z

By Erin Doran Hice

Staying Sane in an Insane World: From A to Z is a personal owner’s manual giving readers the opportunity to think about the foundation on which their lives are built, and how its many components impact their journey. It includes taking the lessons we have learned along the way, and examining how we approach life by addressing matters such as how our time is spent, clearly defining what is important and what is not, how our choices have led to where we find ourselves today, and how to live according to our moral compass and individual priorities. The goal of this book is to help the reader discover and embrace their unique strengths, weaknesses, gifts, and talents so they may live a life that is as peaceful, authentic, and fulfilling as possible in a tumultuous world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Apr 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9798765227558

Erin Doran Hice

Erin Doran Hice was born into a military family where frequent moves, relentless change, and constant instability deeply influenced her no nonsense, yet humorous approach to life. As a child, she often heard that, “Life doesn’t come with an owner’s manual”, so she created Staying Sane in an Insane World: From A to Z as a personal roadmap to approaching life. Erin obtained an M.B.A., pursued a career in corporate America, and then chose to start a successful small business with her husband. Erin’s writing has led her to be featured on TV, radio, and in local community magazines. She currently lives in Colorado with her husband, Randy, and loves seeing her adult sons as much as possible.

Book preview

Copyright © 2022 Erin Doran Hice.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Balboa Press

A Division of Hay House

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.balboapress.com

844-682-1282

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 979-8-7652-2754-1 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-7652-2753-4 (hc)

ISBN: 979-8-7652-2755-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022907223

Balboa Press rev. date: 05/05/2022

CONTENTS

Introduction

Authenticity

Busyness

Courage

Drama

Expectations

Forgiveness

Generosity

Humor

Intuition

Jobs

Kindness

Loyalty

Mediocrity

No

Ownership

Purpose

Quiet

Resilience

Simplify

Time

Underdogs

Victim-ville

Worry

X

You

Zen

I would like to

dedicate this book to the wonderful men in my life who have influenced me in so many ways.

To my husband, Randy, with his endless well of patience and humor. Thank you for standing by my side through decades of incredibly high peaks and heart wrenching valleys.

And to my amazing sons, Sean and Colin, who have taught me more about life than I could ever dream of teaching you. I am so proud of you both. All my love. Always.

INTRODUCTION

While we live in a world of order, beauty, and infinite possibility, it is also incredibly fast moving, constantly changing, competitive, complex, troubled, and dark. So how does one navigate the instability and chaos and build a peaceful existence amid the turmoil?

We build a strong foundation by figuring out what is important to us, how we want to live, and what kind of a person we want to be. We do this by learning from our mistakes and the hardships on our journey which provide us a chance to pause and clearly define what our priorities are and how we will live according to them. This becomes our moral code, our lines in the sand which are the things we will and will not do.

The A to Zs in this book are the codes I choose to live by. They have evolved over the years as I have let some things go as others felt more important. These changes have been influenced by the inevitable events and seasons of life: birth, death, doors opening and closing. These have all been opportunities to redefine what is important. Since life doesn’t come with an owner’s manual, it’s incumbent upon us to build our own based on our individual moral code that is driven by the truths that lie deep within our souls. It will serve as a personal roadmap for navigating the tumultuous world in which we live. And we all need one now more than ever.

A

AUTHENTICITY

It’s really no surprise that so many of us pretend to be someone or something we’re not. Why wouldn’t we? We live in a time where society continually reminds us what we’re supposed to think, how we ought