Choose Wonder Over Worry: Move Beyond Fear and Doubt to Unlock Your Full Potential

In the first chapter of Choose Wonder Over Worry: Move Beyond Fear and Self Doubt, author Amber Rae promises you, "Things are about to get wildly honest." These words set the stage for the entire book -- where Rae blends her own personal stories with the discoveries she made when she got supremely curious about the voices of wonder and worry inside of her.There are so many moments in this book I could relate to -- the shame surrounding a failed project, the envy for a colleague who gets the opportunity you wanted, and the perfectionism that keeps you stuck in place. Where most of us would shy away from these feelings, Rae encourages us to explore what these hard emotions have to teach us. There is wisdom in our fear, worry, anxiety and self-doubt -- if we take the time to unearth it and not let it paralyze us.This is a book about interrupting the patterns that hold you in place and keep you small. It's about discerning the difference between what Rae calls useful worry and toxic worry, and re-engaging with sense of wonder you're born with.

I follow the author on Instagram and I love her posts and journaling prompts. So of course, I decided to buy her book! Sadly after reading 60% of it, I had to put it down. The stories became repetitive, and it is more of Amber's autobiography than a self-help book. She presents a lot of 'worry myths' but doesn't spend a lot of time debunking them in detail. Everything is brief and then there s a page with a visual aid and boom - she has moved on to the next 'worry myth'.I feel like this book would be more beneficial if you are a younger adult/teenager who wants more clarity in your life vision. She does include some great quotes from other authors - as another reviewer mentioned, this was helpful since it does introduce you to new people to read about. Her visual aids are nice, but they don't have the same effect since they are all in grayscale.

Amber writes with such clarity and gives hope with every admittance of failure and frustration then turning it around to show how to power those horrible and awkward feelings into action. Some of these things I already knew at 47 years of age. Others had me stopped in my tracks. I posted on social media that I was reading it and received many comments that my friends were getting a copy too. I know I'm handing mine directly to my 23-year-old daughter. There's a chapter that specifically addresses something she's dealing with now. Probably most chapters will assist her in her expansion into her wonderfully creative and emotional life. How powerful it would be for her to discover a way through it via this book rather than looking back and regretting not addressing it well. Grateful.

This was waiting for me from a preorder when I got home last night, and I curled up on the couch to begin reading, forced myself to bed, then got up and just devoured the rest on this rainy morning. This book is exactly what I needed at this point of my life and it asked all those sharp questions that caused my heart to pound and tears to well up and really poked me to think about things I needed to think about again. It’s one of those books that at first feels like it’s saying things you “already know -eyeroll-“ and then you close it and realize you feel like your heart got punched.

I saw a picture of this book on Raw + Revolution's IG page and it instantly struck a deep chord in my sou and I knew I was meant to read it. I discovered this book at a turning point in my life and truly believe it was a sign from the Universe. It's an uplifting inspiring book that helps encourage you to kick fear in the butt and dream of all the endless possibilities of "what it could be". The four biggest word that kills dreams are " what will people think," and Amber teaches you how to work through the fear and self doubt.

I worry a lot. Some about things I can control. Some others, not so much. Some of Amber's stories sounds like my own. I tend to let other things get to me. I focus on helping others to avoid helping myself. Perfection is a killer to self-worth sometimes. She points out that we should embrace the imperfections and not be ruled by how others perceive us. Stop blaming our life's troubles in others and looking within ourselves to find the real problem. I pledge to choose Wonder over Worry. I want to live out my happiness and dreams.

Had the pleasure of hearing Amber speak a company event we had. I immediately got online and ordered the book and I haven’t been able to put it down!!! So good!!!

This book is the ultimate guide in un-storying myself in the most compassionate, tender and fun way possible so that I show up every day living my life. Not someone else's version of my life. Each chapter is designed in such a way that I am able to journal my answers to questions to help me unlock beliefs that are keeping me stuck or unkind to myself. I was moved by the author's personal story which helped me identify my own shame and doubts (especially raw and loved were the vulnerable chapters about addiction and cheating). Amber Rae skillfully marries wonder and worry, so that wisdom is born. The book shows me how I can do that too. And reminds me I am not alone. It is a book I will keep coming back to again and again.

The SHORT version: BUY IT, READ IT, ABSORB IT and most importantly USE IT to do your truest life’s work. Then SHARE IT, with friends new and old, loved ones, and strangers on the tube.The LONGER version: Amber’s art, work and writing has long inspired me as a previous business owner and now illustrator, often appearing in my inbox or Instagram feed at the precise moment words of wisdom and guidance are needed for my own journey of tapping into my intuition. Long a student of ‘expressing my truth’ myself since moving away from the corporate world over 8 years ago, it is so valuable for me to learn from other people’s paths, challenges and triumphs, and Amber - always unabashedly raw with her reveal of highs and lows - really has provided a shining light for my own career and life.So it was with great excitement that I opened my pre-ordered ‘Choose Wonder’ as soon as it arrived on my doorstep. Every bit as delicious as I’d expect of Amber’s writing, but with an even greater depth of reveal than ever before. The book has already reacquainted me with a few parts of myself, breathing life into a few dusty areas and reinstalling my determination to keep to my ‘thing’ through the good times and bad, but most of all providing an additional reminder for me to examine, re-examine and continue to be aware of the stories I tell myself minute by minute.As a busy wife, mum/stepmum and illustrator, I’ve already downloaded the audio in order to be able to listen to it when zipping round the countryside, and suddenly Amber is right there in the car with me, a friend unafraid to ask me THE MOST difficult and often painful and easily avoided questions, but always with compassion and total love.Every human who opens its pages will without doubt take away a completely different and oh-so-personal message from it, with the ‘inner characters’ we meet coming to life in us at different times. So, I reiterate: BUY IT, READ IT, ABSORB IT and most importantly USE IT. If together we all do our own personal work we’ll be charging forth into a revolution and a future where more of us humans are living a life we love. And wouldn’t the world be a happier place as a result?

This book turned out to be exactly what i needed at this stage of my life journey.Amber did a great job of walking the reader through all of the different aspects of Worry - from self-doubt, to perfectionism, fear, and so much more. It feels like she’s covered everything!The book has helped me feel courage and inspired wonder in me. I am finding myself acknowledging all my challenging thoughts and emotions (worry) and turning then into wonder.Fully recommend this book to anyone but especially to any creatives - podcasters, writers, artists, musicians, etc.

Even after reading the first chapter, I had tears in my eyes when Amber talks about the one main regret of the dying. Super powerful stuff! ❤️ Ambers heart and soul has clearly been poured into this book & it’s definitely going to stir something inside of people - it is for sure the voice of a generation ✨

Great book. It really makes you change the way you interact with your emotions. It is a comforting book but by no means does not challenge you to explore yourself.

I really enjoyed this book, it gave me tools to help overcome obstacles in my life and understand you are not alone. I would recommend this to anyone that needs a bit of a boost!