How I Was Inspired by the Book: In the Meantime

Have you ever read a self help book that spoke directly to you?

I realize that there are a lot of people out there, maybe some of you readers, who don’t really get the appeal of self help books.

Some people plain outright think all self help books are just B.S. But when you think about it, we write stories that help people every single day, just by confiding about our experiences and sharing our truths.

That’s a form of self help, and many self help books are created in that very way. But whether you believe in self help books, counseling, or tv talk shows, good advice tends to ring true, regardless of where you hear it.

That’s how I felt when I first heard the words of the author, Iyanla Vanzant, jump off the pages of the book: “In the Meantime.”

This happened to me…

How the book In the Meantime” affected me

I read this book when it first came out, and it was during a time that Iyanla was all the buzz. I heard her speaking on a early morning talk radio program that I used to listen to before going to work.

I was so impressed by her as a speaker, I of course went out and got the book, not fully prepared for the kind of impact the material would have on me. I was at a place in my life where I wasn’t really happy, although I had no REAL problems to speak of, well maybe one; I wasn’t in a romantic relationship.

I don’t know why because I’d been divorced for several years and there was nothing stopping me from meeting someone and taking a stab at romance. But I guess since I wasn’t really happy with myself at the time, I didn’t see myself being happy with anyone else.

My thoughts weren’t really along the lines of romance at that time, even though the book offered great advice in that area. I was just trying to figure out what was up with me.

I’m sure we’ve all been at a place in our lives where we feel like we’re stuck and nothing is ever going to change, at least not in a substantial way. I was down in my spirit, with no real reason, which of course made me feel worse because I felt guilty.

I mean, there I was, working at a County job where my boss and co-workers loved me and I made decent money and had no real financial problems to speak of.

I was in pretty good health, and my only child — a teenage boy that I was raising alone — was also in good health and not in jail. Believe me, given my bumpy childhood and history, things could have been a hell of a lot worse.

The point is, my life was okay and I had every reason to be happy, but I wasn’t. I felt like a robot going to work every day, doing the same thing, then going home, going to bed, only to do it all again the next day.

Every day I began to feel like I couldn’t take “the same old thing” not one more day. I had actually started thinking about quitting my job, thinking that maybe my work as a Typist Clerk wasn’t challenging enough for me anymore.

I had no particular plans to do anything else, nor could I afford to just stop working, but everyday, I felt like I was smothering.

When I read “In the Meantime”, I immediately loved how our minds were likened to a dirty house that needed a good cleaning — something I could totally relate to.

Being a stickler for keeping things clean, neat and in order, I readily identified with the contents of the book. I learned that I needed to do some of my own ”mental housekeeping” as it was called.

Just like a house or apartment manages to build up dust, dirt and clutter without you realizing it, I discovered that I needed to do as the book instructed:

“…Clean the windows, floors, walls, closets, and corners of our minds.”

This book inspired me to take a real assessment of my life and figure out what was preventing me from being happy. I discovered that somewhere down the line, my life had started lacking joy, an important ingredient in happiness.

After reading this awesome book, I eventually learned how to train myself to constantly be on guard for joy. But as easy as it is to find joy in the simplest things in life you still have to make the effort; you can’t just expect it to come.

As I look back on that time now, I’m glad I didn’t make the mistake of just walking out on my job, with no plan of action whatsoever. That would have been one of the stupidest things I could have done.

True joy and happiness is not dependent on outward things; they are dependent on the internal stuff, like how you think and feel about life and the kind of appreciation you have for it. I would have never come to this realization if it hadn’t been for the book, “In the Meantime”

(The above link is an Amazon non-affiliate link and I have no ties or financial endorsements or connections to the book — I just enjoyed it).

What does the book’s description say about In the Meantime?

You can find the above-mentioned book in the inspirational, and relationship category of the library, or virtual bookstore you shop at.

Here is what was written to describe the book:

The #1 national bestseller from the host of IYANLA: Fix My Life that answers the question: What’s love got to do with it in the meantime You know where you want to be, but you have no clue how to get there. You know exactly what you want in life, but what you want is nowhere in sight. Perhaps your vision is unclear, your purpose still undefined.

On top of it all, your relationships, particularly your romantic relationships, are failing. If these scenarios feel familiar way down in the deepest part of your gut — then you, my dear, are smack dab in the middle of the meantime. Every living being wants to experience the light of love. The problem is that our windows are dirty! The windows of our hearts and minds are streaked with past pains and hurts, past memories and disappointments.

In this book, Iyanla Vanzant teaches us how to do our mental housekeeping so that we can clean the windows, floors, walls, closets, and corners of our minds. If we do a good job, our spirits will shine bringing in the light of true love and happiness.

Final Thoughts

I wrote the review about this book many years ago, and since then, the author has had a wide amount of fame and publicity, both good and bad.

Some readers may recognize her name, in connection with Oprah, or even the Braxton Family Values Show, as well as her own television show (where she’s a female version of Dr. Phil)

But whatever people think of herd counseling style and strong personality, her view points tend to be right on point.

If you’d like to read some really insightful stuff to help you get unstuck it life, I recommend giving the book a read.

DEAR READER: The advice and opinions I shared in this story are not taken from a text book, nor do I profess to be an expert. I only aim to share how I handled the situation when this happened to me, OR how I feel about it if it were to ever happen. The views I express are part of the many life lessons I discovered on my journey to self improvement.

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