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Writer's pictureInner Odyssey

Your Second Life Begins When You Realize You Only Have One

Updated: Feb 7, 2021



It's a beginning of a new yearn which means people are setting new resolutions for their lives and therefore are picking new self-help books. When I was 19, my parents and I stopped by a gas station when we were on a trip. There was that book that caught my attention, "You Second Life Begins When You Realize You Only Have One" by Raphaëlle Giordano. It turned out to be the best fiction book I've ever read about self-help, alongside Paulo Coelho's novel, "The Alchemist". It relates the story of a Parisian girl named Camille who changes her life with he help of Claude, a "routinologist".


This article will set some of life changing insights inspired from the book that will lead you.



Get out of Your Comfort Zone


For her first step towards happiness and fulfillment, Camille has to realize that her success lies beyond her comfort zone. She will have to put in concret actions and regular efforts.

There are no bones to break in ego. Be grateful to the suffering as much you are to your success. Suffering will lead you to a place where you'll take nothing for granted.


I found that the things I'm afraid to do are often the things that have the most potential to expand my life. Now when I feel fear, it's usually an indicator that I should do that thing that mostly afraid of.


Try something new until you feel comfortable. Anything that I struggle with, I keep trying different approaches until I’m no longer scared of it. Sometimes it takes a while to get comfortable, so try different approaches daily, or just keep at it until it becomes comfortable. Then move to the next uncomfortable thing.



Make a List of All The Things You wish You Can Change


Camille's next step in her journey was to list all the things she wished she could change, from beliefs to reactions to values. Even the things that seemed to her the most challenging or those about which she felt she was not up to. This is called "Self-Discovery Journey".


And therefore, in order to achieve your goals, you must set them according to the "SMART" method. Then it's time to search for your life project that matches your genuine personality and values. Keep it away from what others might think of you or judge you about. Remember it is YOUR LIFE that is at stake, not theirs. The very freedom you'll ever taste will occur when you'll start to build up your life based on the person you truly want to be at the last day of your life. It doesn't matter if this will disappoint some people around you, as long as you won't feel remorse on your deathbed.



Focus on the process, not the results


The society we live in has been molded in a way that people seek instant results. We’re wired to focus on outcomes, in no small part because of our education system.


Having your eye on the results has a way of making you hate the work you have to do to get it. That is because you are looking to the future where your results are and the fact that we can’t get them this very minute makes us unhappy with what we are doing now.


Once you focus on an external factor as the basis for your happiness or motivation, you will only retain part of the control that you could have. You leave the important part to someone else or something else.

But the moment you switch from external factors to internal factors you will begin to take FULL control of your progress.




This article was inspired from the book "You Second Life Begins When You Realize You Only Have One" by Raphaëlle Giordano.



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