The crazy experiment of this author is changing your life
When Alexandra Reinwarth woke up the day after her death, she was not only alive, but happy as well. She rejoiced in the fullness of her life and in this and every other day she would be allowed to live. No, the bestselling author was not seriously ill, she had not survived a serious accident and had no near-death experience. She had lived just under a year exactly as she would have done in the face of death. An experiment that was not cynical or reckless, but one that led them to the big questions of life: what is really important to me? With whom and with what do I want to spend the time I have? What does my finitude mean for my life?
The woman who chases happiness
Anyone who does not know Alexandra Reinwarth will surely have stumbled upon one of their books. For example, the world bestseller "Away is also a way". For the book she practiced saying no, only to surround herself with people who are good for her and to be more consistent with herself. Not an easy task, because Alexandra Reinwarth is carved out of the same wood as all the yes-sagers, self-optimizers, self-seek-blunders and excuse-seekers for whom she wrote the book. And that's exactly what makes their attempts, so much rather times "over the ass" to go, so refreshing and funny. For another book, she tried to become the perfect lover, at other times she tried anything that supposedly makes her happy. Always with you: her wonderful dry humor. Alexandra Reinwarth just likes to try. And so her latest book is almost a logical consequence of all the previous books, "which have always scratched the surface of the really big issues," she says.
A "no" can be pure quality of life
After Alexandra Reinwarth had learned to pay more attention to herself and to let all the trivialities and exhausting people "fuck up", she had already taken an important step towards a happy and fulfilled life. "I've been very attentive to all these experiments," she says. "Every no, every self-imposed limit and the training, not even to please everyone, has brought me a lot of quality of life." To vilify self-optimization, the lively mid-forties would not come to mind. "Oh, that's part of life," she says. You can always work on yourself, but a shy woman never becomes an Ina Müller, and if you're not into sports, maybe you should not aim for a perfect bikini figure, you should already know your own cornerstones, otherwise you will be unhappy. " But watch yourself mindfully and work on yourself? "Absolutely recommendable!", She finds and lives it in her books.
Dying to live
In her latest book, Alexandra Reinwarth pushed her search for happiness to the extreme. "It's crazy how the thought of your own finiteness suddenly makes things happen," she says. First of all, you become more risk-averse. "Pride and embarrassment suddenly no longer matter," she says. In the year in which suddenly nothing could be postponed until later, many things became clear to her. "For example, that my dream of opening my own hostel at some point was really important to me." So important that she immediately tackled the project. "I bought an old building in Valencia with my girlfriend and we are in the process of restoring it."
Only the heart is important
Is it possible to say something about life after such a consistently conceived "last year of life"? Alexandra Reinwarth thinks for a long time. "Of course I do not have instructions for life," she says. "But two things have become very clear to me: First, life is too short for later, and secondly, only the heart is important in life, that answers everything, you just have to ask."
"Life is too short for later" by Alexandra Reinwarth, published in mvgpublishing company.
Our tip: Absolutely listen as an audiobook. The author reads herself. This makes her story even more personal and her wonderful writing style even more enjoyable.
