Coming alive : 4 tools to defeat your inner enemy, ignite creative expression, and unleash your soul's potential

**Tap into the life force to deepen your emotional and spiritual experience and realize your full potential with this transformative book by the __New York Times__ bestselling authors of __The Tools__ (and the resident shrinks on Goop).** In __The Tools,__ Barry Michels and Phil Stutz revolutionized the world of personal growth and self-actualization by offering doable, dynamic actions that transformed challenges into opportunities for change. Now, in __Coming Alive__, they provide four vital tools for tapping into the Life Force that resides within each of us—a wellspring of positive energy that is the source of creativity, renewal, confidence, and engagement. The first step in gaining mastery over one’s life is identifying the enemy within, which Michels and Stutz have named Part X. This formidable adversary is a shape-shifter—it may be the voice in your head that is a torrent of negativity, persuading you of the futility of finding love, starting a business, or pursuing a creative passion; it may sap you of energy, convincing you that your inner resources are limited; it may take the form of outside forces that conspire against you. In whatever guise it appears, Part X aims to derail your progress, keep you small and stuck, and defeat hope. The tools in __Coming Alive__ help you connect to the Life Force and harness the energy and will to combat Part X. These are tools of ascendance—they activate your aspirational self; they spark creativity and resilience; they help you to transcend the mire of negative thoughts and circumstances and align with a powerful ally that unites us in our common desire to live lives of meaning and engagement. Drawing insights from their decades of psychotherapeutic practice, their lived experience, and their moving and generous understanding of our interconnectedness, Michels and Stutz have created a paradigm-shifting guide to achieving optimal mental health and spiritual well-being.**Advance praise for __Coming Alive__** “There is something indescribably beautiful about living life in integrity. The tools Barry and Phil teach in __Coming Alive__ gave me the courage and clarity to align myself with the truth—no matter how hard or painful it seemed at the time.”**—Gwyneth Paltrow**“What a gift! A riveting exploration of four (bone-chillingly relatable) modern ailments and their thrillingly practical solutions . . . Singular in its approach and deeply spiritual in its concerns, __Coming Alive__ is a book I’ll be pressing on friends and foes alike.”**—Maria Semple, author of __Where’d You Go, Bernadette__** Tap into the life force to deepen your emotional and spiritual experience and realize your full potential with this transformative book by the New York Times bestselling authors of The Tools (and the resident shrinks on Goop). In The Tools, Barry Michels and Phil Stutz revolutionized the world of personal growth and self-actualization by offering doable, dynamic actions that transformed challenges into opportunities for change. Now, in Coming Alive , they provide four vital tools for tapping into the Life Force that resides within each of us—a wellspring of positive energy that is the source of creativity, renewal, confidence, and engagement. The first step in gaining mastery over one’s life is identifying the enemy within, which Michels and Stutz have named Part X. This formidable adversary is a shape-shifter—it may be the voice in your head that is a torrent of negativity, persuading you of the futility of finding love, starting a business, or pursuing a creative passion; it may sap you of energy, convincing you that your inner resources are limited; it may take the form of outside forces that conspire against you. In whatever guise it appears, Part X aims to derail your progress, keep you small and stuck, and defeat hope. The tools in Coming Alive help you connect to the Life Force and harness the energy and will to combat Part X. These are tools of ascendance—they activate your aspirational self; they spark creativity and resilience; they help you to transcend the mire of negative thoughts and circumstances and align with a powerful ally that unites us in our common desire to live lives of meaning and engagement. Drawing insights from their decades of psychotherapeutic practice, their lived experience, and their moving and generous understanding of our interconnectedness, Michels and Stutz have created a paradigm-shifting guide to achieving optimal mental health and spiritual well-being. Advance praise for Coming Alive “There is something indescribably beautiful about living life in integrity. The tools Barry and Phil teach in Coming Alive gave me the courage and clarity to align myself with the truth—no matter how hard or painful it seemed at the time.” —Gwyneth Paltrow “What a gift! A riveting exploration of four (bone-chillingly relatable) modern ailments and their thrillingly practical solutions . . . Singular in its approach and deeply spiritual in its concerns, Coming Alive is a book I’ll be pressing on friends and foes alike.” —Maria Semple, author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette “The tools Barry and Phil teach in Coming Alive gave me the courage and clarity to align myself with the truth—no matter how hard or painful it seemed at the time.”—Gwyneth Paltrow Tap into the Life Force with this critical and contemporary guide to unlocking our most powerful selves—from the bestselling authors of The Tools (and goop’s resident shrinks). Phil Stutz and Barry Michels’s tools are featured in Stutz, a Netflix original documentary directed by Jonah Hill and co-produced by Joaquin Phoenix In The Tools , Michels and Stutz revolutionized the world of personal growth. Now, in Coming Alive , they guide readers toward a wellspring of positive energy: the source of creativity, renewal, and engagement. The first step in gaining mastery over one’s life—in deepening both emotional and spiritual experiences—is identifying the enemy within, which Michels and Stutz have named Part X. This formidable adversary is a shape-shifter: it may be the voice in your head that is a torrent of negativity; it may take the form of outside forces that conspire against you. In whatever guise it appears, Part X aims to derail your progress, keep you small and stuck, and defeat hope. The four vital tools in Coming Alive help you connect to the Life Force—a wellspring of positive energy that is the source of creativity, renewal, confidence, and engagement—and harness the energy and will to combat Part X. Drawing insights from their decades of psychotherapeutic practice, their lived experience, and their moving and generous understanding of our interconnectedness, Michels and Stutz have created a paradigm-shifting guide to achieving optimal mental health and spiritual well-being. Praise for Coming Alive “What a gift! A riveting exploration of four (bone-chillingly relatable) modern ailments and their thrillingly practical solutions . . . Singular in its approach and deeply spiritual in its concerns, Coming Alive is a book I’ll be pressing on friends and foes alike.” —Maria Semple, author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette “The tools Barry and Phil teach in Coming Alive gave me the courage and clarity to align myself with the truth—no matter how hard or painful it seemed at the time.”—Gwyneth Paltrow Tap into the Life Force with this critical and contemporary guide to unlocking our most powerful selves—from the bestselling authors of The Tools (and Goop’s resident shrinks). Phil Stutz and Barry Michels’s tools will be featured in an upcoming Netflix original documentary directed by Jonah Hill and co-produced by Joaquin Phoenix In The Tools, Michels and Stutz revolutionized the world of personal growth. Now, in Coming Alive, they guide readers toward a wellspring of positive energy: the source of creativity, renewal, and engagement. The first step in gaining mastery over one’s life—in deepening both emotional and spiritual experiences—is identifying the enemy within, which Michels and Stutz have named Part X. This formidable adversary is a shape-shifter: it may be the voice in your head that is a torrent of negativity; it may take the form of outside forces that conspire against you. In whatever guise it appears, Part X aims to derail your progress, keep you small and stuck, and defeat hope. The four vital tools in Coming Alive help you connect to the Life Force—a wellspring of positive energy that is the source of creativity, renewal, confidence, and engagement—and harness the energy and will to combat Part X. Drawing insights from their decades of psychotherapeutic practice, their lived experience, and their moving and generous understanding of our interconnectedness, Michels and Stutz have created a paradigm-shifting guide to achieving optimal mental health and spiritual well-being. Praise for Coming Alive “What a gift! A riveting exploration of four (bone-chillingly relatable) modern ailments and their thrillingly practical solutions . . . Singular in its approach and deeply spiritual in its concerns, Coming Alive is a book I’ll be pressing on friends and foes alike.”—Maria Semple, author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette "For anyone who's ever felt demoralized, addicted, drained of energy, or victimized, this follow-up to the transformative New York Times bestseller identifies the patterns of behaviour that hold us back and presents a tool for each that allows us to break free and realize our full potential. Your relationship with life is a 2-way street. It gives to you, but it also makes demands of you. Life makes its demands known through the problems you encounter. Confronting your problems allows you to discover your potential--this is the essence of human evolution. Think of your evolution as a difficult climb up a mountain path. When you lose energy, it's like suddenly falling into a hole--you stop ascending. But in life, you dig the hole yourself. There are 4 different ways of digging this hole. Each consists of a set of attitudes and behaviours that drain your energy and make it impossible to go on. The 4 patterns are: demoralization, addiction, paralysis and victimization. In this second book of "tools," Stutz & Michels explain what you did to fall into each hole. They give you the specific tool that allows you to climb out, to create and maintain structure and resiliency in your own life, so you can continue the ascent to your highest potential."-- Provided by publisher The transformative new book by the authors of the New York Times bestseller The Tools (and the resident shrinks on Goop ) reveals how to deepen your emotional and spiritual experience and realize your full potential. In The Tools, Barry Michels and Phil Stutz revolutionized the world of personal growth and self-actualization by offering doable, dynamic actions that transformed challenges into opportunities for change. In Coming Alive , they take us even higher via four tools that tap into the life force that resides within each of us—a wellspring of positive energy that is the source of creativity, renewal, confidence, and engagement. The first step in gaining mastery over one's life is identifying the enemy within, which Michels and Stutz have named Part X. This formidable adversary is a shape shifter—it may be the voice in your head that is a torrent of negativity, persuading you of the futility of finding love,... The resident psychology experts on Goop offer a program to reach one's potential by activating aspirations, sparking creativity and resilience, transcending negative thoughts and circumstances, and live a live of meaning and engagement. Reclaiming your life Fighting for the life force The tool: the black sun The tool: the vortex The tool: the mother The tool: the tower Truth, beauty, and goodness The new world.