Product Description

The #1 New York Times bestselling Self Matters laid the groundwork for a new way of thinking and talking about ourselves. Now, with this unique companion readers can continue their journey toward the "authentic self."

Dr. Phil McGraw grabbed the attention of the entire country with his phenomenal #1 bestseller Self Matters. In that groundbreaking work, Phil's no-nonsense style forced us to ask those questions we had avoided for too long: Who are we really? Where do the fears, insecurities, and doubts come from that prevent us from becoming who we want to be? And most important, how do we let go of those burdens to rediscover our "authentic self"? With more than 1.5 million copies sold, Self Matters is one of the most powerful works available directing us to the answers. With The Self Matters Companion, readers will have the chance to dig deeper into the questions, concepts, and exercises that empowered them in Self Matters.

Self Matters created a new language and a new way of thinking. Now, The Self Matters Companion takes self-awareness to the next level with a variety of interactive exercises, focusing on such issues as:

• Identifying the content of your Personal Truth

• Reprogramming your life pattern so you can create the future you want

• Identifying key areas of conflict between Fictional vs. Authentic living

Much more than a workbook or journal, this guide is a real companion. It provides the perfect tools, for finding the life you deserve.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #408408 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-17
• Released on: 2002-09-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

Amazon.com Review
Essentially a complementary workbook to Dr. Phil McGraw's bestseller Self Matters, The Self Matters Companion offers exercises for readers of McGraw's earlier books, allowing them to put their personal issues to the test of McGraw's own commonsense approach to life. It's not quite the same as being a guest on McGraw's nationally syndicated TV talk show, but the chances of personal enrichment are about equal--without the threat of public embarrassment or Dr. Phil's withering gaze. --David Bombeck

About the Author
Phillip C. McGraw, Ph.D. is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Life Strategies, Relationship Rescue, and Self Matters. He is the host of the nationally syndicated, daily one-hour series Dr. Phil. One of the world's foremost experts in the field of human functioning, Dr. McGraw is the cofounder of Courtroom Sciences, Inc., the world's leading litigation consulting firm. Dr. McGraw currently lives in Los Angeles, California, with his wife and two sons.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Introduction

Millions of you have launched into the process of Self Matters, creating your life from the inside out, and your e-mails and lectures have been both humbling and inspiring. Now, your learning about yourself and your relationship with yourself is about to go to the next level. You began an amazing process when you worked through your ten defining moments, your seven critical choices, and your five pivotal people. You continued that journey by looking at the internal factors that dictate and control your responses to those events. I'm back with more to say about you, who you have become and how you got there, and I'm doing it because you have asked me to do so.

I refer to getting real about your authentic self as a process because it has a beginning but hopefully it has no end. This process is something that will become part of you managing you. The Self Matters Companion is designed to make this process part of your everyday life. It is designed to make this process something that becomes not just an exercise you once did but instead something that defines your commitment to living by design.

As the Life Law says, you either get it or you don't, and "getting it" means that you answer every question as completely and thoroughly as possible. That means that you have to add two very important patterns to your behavior. You must begin to consciously monitor yourself on a day-to-day basis, observing not only what you do but also how and why you do it. You must also constantly compare and contrast your actual real-world life with that which your authentic self desires and requires.

Having read so many of your letters, I also know that a fair number of you did not complete all of the assignments in Self Matters. (I'm sure you are the dutiful exception!) This is your chance to close any gaps in your understanding and build on what you already know.

I have said that the most important relationship you will ever have in this world is the one you have with yourself. In addition to this relationship being the most important one you'll ever have, I also want it to be the most successful one you will ever have. There is a very important formula for success in a relationship, and this formula applies whether the relationship you're managing is with yourself or with someone else. Here's the formula:

The quality of a relationship is a function of the extent to which it is based on a solid underlying friendship and meets the needs of the two people involved.

As you embark on making the Self Matters Companion part of your daily life, think about how that formula can apply to you "companioning" you.

The first element of the formula, "based on a solid underlying friendship," is, I think, particularly intriguing when we are talking about what kind of friend you are to you.

Think about what characterizes your closest friendships with others. I'm betting that in those closest and most pleasing relationships, you, if you're a good friend, are accepting, devoted, loyal, fun-loving, honest, and genuine.

That is the goal and definition I hope you will carry forward in "companioning" yourself. This life has not and will not be a success-only journey. Not even close. If you bail on "you" when you observe less than desirable thoughts, feelings, or behaviors, you will be in big, big trouble. Do not be a fair-weather friend to yourself. Do not judge yourself when you stub your toe along the way. The Self Matters Companion will put you into intense and intimate contact with yourself day to day. Be loyal and stand by yourself!

The second element, "the extent to which it...meets the needs of the people involved," speaks to how effectively you are there for yourself. Throughout Self Matters, I wrote about identifying what you truly want and need to live consistently with your authentic self. Hopefully, you can see how important that is to your relationship with yourself. You are a life manager, and you have one client and one client only: YOU! Do a good job because you can't fire yourself and get a replacement.

I can help you with what follows in these pages, but the doing is up to you. Be sure that you specifically, precisely identify your wants and needs and are deeply, loyally committed and you will have what you want. Bottom line, it's time to be there for you, not in thought or theory but in your walk through this everyday life.

Copyright © 2002 by Phillip C. McGraw

Customer Reviews

The self matters companion
This book arrived in about 5 days and in excellent condition. I was a bit leary because of the low price, but it all worked out fine.

Thank you.

A COMPANION, not a replacement
As the title plainly states, this is a COMPANION book and is NOT meant to be used as a replacement for the Self Matters book. This helps greatly with organizing the written exercises in the book itself. While, yes, you can just as easily purchase an empty journal, I enjoy the ordered format of this workbook. It kept me more inclined to do the exercises as they are asked of you, rather than reading the whole book first as I had done the first time, I just skipped over the exercises altogether. If you're not as disciplined, having this workbook encourages you to work out and actually DO the written work, which is a vital step in reaping the benefits of Self Matters. I highly recommend it.

A Rip-Off
The book of the same title is relatively good, but the companion workbook is a waste of money! It requires you to have the original book to work along with it.
Get the REAL book which also includes the exact SAME exercises that are featured in the companion, with the exception being the companion includes loads of empty space for you to be write in.
So, get the REAL book and get a cheap journal to write in those exercises (instead of this costly, redundant workbook), and leave this companion on the shelf.