Loretta LaRoche Wellness Coach

by Kathy McCabe, Special to AOL Coaches

The title of the book 'Life Is Short, Wear Your Party Pants: Ten Simple Truths That Lead to an Amazing Life' comes from an incident in author Loretta LaRoche’s childhood.

LaRoche’s mother always insisted on buying her the most “hideous underwear” but in a weak moment bought her a lovely pair, but insisted she could only wear them on special occasions as her “party pants.” She guesses she only wore them twice. LaRoche shares this story at the beginning of her book in order to make several points, not the least of which is the fact that we are all indoctrinated with messages from "our families of origin."

"Many of us have inherited a scarcity mentality from our parents; or a mentality that says we shouldn’t celebrate and use the good china in our everyday lives," she writes. So while LaRoche really wanted to wear her childhood party pants, her mother discouraged her and thus set up behaviors the author has struggled to overcome -- mainly, living for the moment and taking joy from each day, ideas that form the premise of her latest book.

LaRoche instructs her readers to learn from the optimists around them. She analyzes what optimists do that pessimists don’t. Their most essential quality is the ability to identify when they are slipping into negative thinking and turn it around. Optimists realize that life is not easy and demonstrate tenacity in the face of adversity, understanding that action is better than inertia, and each step, is a step closer to the goal. According to LaRoche, optimists usually excel at tolerating impulses, delaying gratification and controlling impulses.

The author rehashes many of the ideas we have heard before -- you create reality by your thoughts, write down the things that bring you happiness or gratitude -- but does so with her own realistice and refreshing perspective. The frivolous design of the book’s cover and even some of LaRoche’s attempts at the humor she advocates so much seem to obscure the serious and necessary message of this book – we only live once and should all learn to welcome the positive and deal with the negative as expeditiously as possible and in general, wear the "party pants" more often!

1. Buy 'Life Is Short -- Wear Your Party Pants'