Aired Wednesday, 2 December 2015, 4:00 PM ET

In an age of so-called expert advice to be richer, thinner, smarter, and faster, we’re all filled with worry and self-doubt. Bestselling author, M.J. Ryan believes we’ve become so dependent on “experts” to tell us how to live our lives that we listen to everyone except ourselves.

In her book, Trusting Yourself, Ryan identifies the answers to feeling swept away by life: understand that we already have what it takes to cope and learn how to tap into the wisdom inside us by cultivating the three qualities of self-awareness, self-confidence, and self-reliance. She teaches us how to set the critics aside and to trust ourselves instead. First she reveals the inner attitudes that nurture self-trust. If you accept that we learn through trial and error, that we each have unique strengths and realize that labels only get in the way, then your self-trust will grow, your worries will shrink, and you’ll find happiness and success with a lot less effort.

About the Author M.J. Ryan

M.J. Ryan is one of the creators of the New York Times bestselling Random Acts of Kindness and the author of How to Survive Change You Didn’t Ask For, The Power of Patience, The Happiness Makeover, and Attitudes of Gratitude, among other books. She works as an executive coach to individuals and teams around the world, and is a workshop leader at Omega, Esalen, and elsewhere.

Her website: www.mj-ryan.com