Sometimes, the world speaks through blog readers. As soon as I pushed publish on a recent blog post, Do You Have a Word to Define Your Year?, the first comment popped up. And I stopped in my tracks.

In the post, I argue that coming up with one word to define your year is a great way to motivate you to reach your best, and to inform your decisions and choices on a daily basis throughout the next 365 days. In 2013, my word was REST. In 2014, my word is RENEW.

In the first comment on the post, a reader wrote in to tell us his word of the year.

That word?

SURVIVE.

Without knowing anything about his particular life circumstances, I can say this: we all have moments (weeks, months, years) where it seems like we’re just hanging on by our fingernails. For me, this was the very reason that my 2013 word of the year was REST, after all.

This week, my friend Crystal Paine, mega-blogger behind MoneySavingMom.com, came out with her new book. Say Goodbye to Survival Mode: 9 Simple Strategies to Stress Less, Sleep More, and Restore Your Passion for Life.

I had the chance to review the book some months ago, and was blown away by Crystal’s ability to connect that common feeling of overwhelm with a key plan to getting over it.

Here are three key things I learned from the book that will help you in your journey to get you out from overwhelm.

Ditch the Non-Essentials.

One of the things I have most admired Crystal for is her ability to say NO when NO is needed. Granted, it isn’t easy for Crystal, and she’s not perfect by any means! In the book, she explains exactly how saying YES to everything got her sick, tired, and sick and tired of being sick and tired. She then takes readers through her journey to start saying NO more and more, and shows readers what a life where more NO exists can really be a much better life.

Discipline is key.

Crystal’s readers know her for her knack for goal-setting, and although she doesn’t always meet all her goals, her intentions are there. Stepping out of survival mode is all about creating enough discipline in your life so that you can enjoy the new boundaries you have set around your time, your family, your passions, your work, and everything else that is important to you. In getting out of overwhelm, discipline is your friend.

There is always hope. 

Crystal is huge on hope, and she is great at ensuring that every single reader who opens her book knows that, no matter where you are now, it can be better. And she means it.

Want to learn more about the book?

• Buy it here on Amazon (or at any other online or brick-and-mortar store)!
• Listen to a free teleseminar with Crystal where she discusses the book here.
• See some of the bonuses Crystal is offering when you purchase this week here.

And, the video trailer: