Your Life’s Hidden Rules What’s holding you back? Answer these 12 questions and find out Which do you most agree with: Life is a playground, whirl around, have fun and swing baby, swing! Life is a school, I’m here to study and learn (and chew on a few pencils) Life is a prison, what did I do to deserve this (or watching the clock) Life is an ocean, just keep swimming None My inner housekeeping team is most likely to use: The Hoover Wind Tunnel, it’s powerful and has a history The Dyson Animal, no wires to trip over and lots of gadgets You just call Alexa, she takes care of everything without a thought A Roomba, it just bumps into things and keeps on sucking None Which most represents the inside of your mind: An art gallery: everything is neatly framed on a white wall to contain your ability to perceive. A rural skyscraper: things seem a little out of place location-wise, but you’re fine with the view The Yorkshire Dales: uncultivated moors with the occasional waterfall and towering cliff where the steps can be precarious but the views are simply spectacular The Peak District: dreamy valleys and streams with occasional stepping stones to reality None Which piece of construction equipment best reflects your response to self-improvement: Bulldozer: Keep calm and carry on. Excavator: Dig it up; I want to see it all, even the ugly stuff, dead bodies and all those toxic plastic bags Hammer: I’ll make it work my way, damn-it Shop vac: I’ll just suck it up and make someone else empty the thing None Let’s talk music. Which 70’s band most encapsulates how you go after life: The Rolling Stones: It just keeps coming and you dodge the stones to take on the boulders The Beatles: You crawl around in the less traveled areas looking for your own path to blaze The Who: You wander blindly, waiting for the divine to strike Led Zeppelin: You’re a bit heavy footed, I mean, people know where you’ve been. You leave your mark and in the most unique and creative way that changes the course of humanity None And on the same theme, which 80’s song title best describes how you work your magic in life: Cindi Lauper: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Pat Benatar: Shadows of the Night Whitney Houston: So Emotional Kate Bush: Running up that Hill/This Woman’s Work None In building your life, are you more: Tiny house: Efficiency is the name of your game. You don’t take up a lot of space; the Wow is on the inside. The Partridge Family Bus: ‘Come on Get Happy’! Be bold, get noticed on the highway of life even if it means breaking down on the side of the road. Yurt: Unique. I make my statement at the door. And no shoes allowed. Mansion:You’ll watch that fancy bus and those yurt dwellers from your hilltop fortress. None Which tool best describes your approach to accepting responsibility for your mistakes: Blow torch: Get rid of any memory of it. A fishing pole: put some bait on the end and see if you can get someone else on the hook. Jump rope: Skip over it; next. Legos: Snap together all the different pieces and see if you can make something out of it. None Life may toss a few unexpected challenges my way and when it does, I tune into: NBC: Never Be Caught; you keep your inner basement well-stocked with all types of self-help and survival knowledge to avoid the unexpected CBS: Can’t Be Seen. You ignore it, stay in the flow of your life, your space. No unexpected changes allowed unless you’ve planned for it. FOX: Fear of your X-Factor. There’s something in the hen house. You must be heard! BBC: Bloody Brave Chap/Chap-ette: Let’s check out what’s going on in the rest of the world instead until this stuff settles down None Which do you agree with more: My brain is the engine, my soul is the map. My soul is the engine, my brain is the map. None There’s a famous talk host in my brain and it resembles: Oprah: Relaxed on the couch, we explore everything with integrity, honesty and the bravery and sometimes, I even get to wear her shoes or win a new car!!!! Ellen DeGeneres: It pops with the rhythm of life, dancing up and down the isles to feel the joy of what happenstance or intuition is guiding me to see. Howard Stern: In control of the mike, it has it’s unique slant on reality, building conversational structures to make things fit it. James Corden: It has a British accent, is exuberantly joyful and finds the light, the humor and the song in life’s gaffs to leave me feeling hopeful. None How would you describe your approach to self-improvement: Deep Tissue Message: Just lay there until it’s over Run: Keep the rhythm. Let thought drop in the ‘ah ha!’ moment Yoga: Focus on the breath Cross-fit: Forget the damn breath, push through and build up the emotional and mental muscle None Your rules aren’t meant to be interpreted literally, though some work that way. My rule of Be Nice, has at times, let people walk all over me. It takes Kathryn Winslow a lifetime to figure out her Rules have deceived her all-knowing voice within. Time's up
