What are you struggling with?
Over the past 15 years, we've asked our readers this question.
Thousands of people have given thousands of answers, and almost all of those answers can be reduced to one of the following:
Do any of these apply to you? If so, congratulations - you are human just like the rest of us!
We all want to be happier. We all want to reduce suffering.
So, we try to "cope" with our struggles in various ways:
Some of these may deliver temporary relief. But, as most of us discover (sooner or later), our attempts to cope usually end up creating more problems.
The reason is simple: we are focusing on the symptoms. Stress is a symptom. Extreme emotions are a symptom. All of the struggles listed above are symptoms.
And, no matter how often you address them, they will always come back if you ignore the root cause.
The self-help industry thrives by exploiting this. And, collectively, we spend over $10 billion a year treating symptoms that always return. It's like we're stuck on a treadmill, endlessly searching for new ways to cope.
The good news is, it doesn't have to be this way. Once you understand and address the root cause, you can step off the treadmill.
It all starts with accepting a basic truth:
No matter what you do, you can't escape your mind.
Every experience you will ever have is shaped by your mind. And, your mind has a bigger impact on your overall health and well-being than any other factor in your life. It quite literally determines the quality of your existence.
Yet, few of us are taught anything about it.
Instead, we go through our days caught up in thoughts, emotions, urges, and an inner narrative that never stops. The real issue is, we don't realize we're going through our days caught up in this "mental noise," because it's our normal state.
This "lack of awareness" is the root cause of our struggles. To put it plainly,
There's what's happening, and there's the story your mind tells you about what's happening - the two rarely match.
That one sentence explains much of our daily suffering.
And, becoming aware of the difference between what's happening and the story our minds tell us about what's happening is how we bring an end to much of our daily suffering.
Thousands of people have given thousands of answers, and almost all of those answers can be reduced to one of the following:
- stress;
- endless worry;
- extreme emotions;
- feelings of anxiety and depression;
- low self-confidence;
- sleep problems;
- tension headaches, neck and back pain;
- a lack of focus;
- a runaway mind and nonstop thoughts.
Do any of these apply to you? If so, congratulations - you are human just like the rest of us!
We all want to be happier. We all want to reduce suffering.
So, we try to "cope" with our struggles in various ways:
- We acquire material things;
- We change jobs;
- We go to traditional therapy;
- We take prescription medication;
- We end one relationship and start another;
- We eat too much, drink too much, or use drugs;
- We take vacations;
- We consume self-help/self-improvement resources;
- We try "forced positive thinking" or repeating affirmations;
- We bury ourselves in work, games, or other activities.
Some of these may deliver temporary relief. But, as most of us discover (sooner or later), our attempts to cope usually end up creating more problems.
The reason is simple: we are focusing on the symptoms. Stress is a symptom. Extreme emotions are a symptom. All of the struggles listed above are symptoms.
And, no matter how often you address them, they will always come back if you ignore the root cause.
The self-help industry thrives by exploiting this. And, collectively, we spend over $10 billion a year treating symptoms that always return. It's like we're stuck on a treadmill, endlessly searching for new ways to cope.
The good news is, it doesn't have to be this way. Once you understand and address the root cause, you can step off the treadmill.
It all starts with accepting a basic truth:
No matter what you do, you can't escape your mind.
Every experience you will ever have is shaped by your mind. And, your mind has a bigger impact on your overall health and well-being than any other factor in your life. It quite literally determines the quality of your existence.
Yet, few of us are taught anything about it.
Instead, we go through our days caught up in thoughts, emotions, urges, and an inner narrative that never stops. The real issue is, we don't realize we're going through our days caught up in this "mental noise," because it's our normal state.
This "lack of awareness" is the root cause of our struggles. To put it plainly,
There's what's happening, and there's the story your mind tells you about what's happening - the two rarely match.
That one sentence explains much of our daily suffering.
And, becoming aware of the difference between what's happening and the story our minds tell us about what's happening is how we bring an end to much of our daily suffering.
How do you "become aware?"
It's the million-dollar question.
As I grew up, there wasn't much guidance when it came to my compulsive mind and non-stop thoughts. There weren't any classes that instructed me on how to deal with the incessant "voice in my head" that commented on and judged everything and everyone (especially myself!).
Nothing in school provided insight into how my mind conditioned my behavior, and led to the decisions and actions that made me who I was. As such, I did what most of us do - I blamed my struggles on everything "out there." It was always someone or something else's fault: my family, school, my job, a lack of money, politicians (there's an endless supply of things to blame!).
But, blaming the external situations in my life wasn't a winning strategy. In fact, it turns out those situations were all interchangeable - if I addressed one, it would be replaced with another in short order. I soon discovered if happiness depended on addressing, eliminating, or fixing these external situations, I was never going to be happy because there would always be something else to address, eliminate, or fix.
So, where do you go from that point?
You only have two choices:
The second choice is what I finally did - and, it's what we've been teaching other people to do for almost 16 years now.
"An owner's guide to the mind" is our online, self-paced course. It's received a lot of recognition, including being ranked #3 out of 25 in MobileMedia's "personal development" category.
And, people around the world have called it "life-changing."
It's affordable to everyone. And, we provide a guarantee in the form of our unique pricing model:
If you're tired of coping, you can begin addressing the root cause right now.
Click here for contents and order information.
Steve Jacobson, Stamford, Connecticut:
As I grew up, there wasn't much guidance when it came to my compulsive mind and non-stop thoughts. There weren't any classes that instructed me on how to deal with the incessant "voice in my head" that commented on and judged everything and everyone (especially myself!).
Nothing in school provided insight into how my mind conditioned my behavior, and led to the decisions and actions that made me who I was. As such, I did what most of us do - I blamed my struggles on everything "out there." It was always someone or something else's fault: my family, school, my job, a lack of money, politicians (there's an endless supply of things to blame!).
But, blaming the external situations in my life wasn't a winning strategy. In fact, it turns out those situations were all interchangeable - if I addressed one, it would be replaced with another in short order. I soon discovered if happiness depended on addressing, eliminating, or fixing these external situations, I was never going to be happy because there would always be something else to address, eliminate, or fix.
So, where do you go from that point?
You only have two choices:
- Stick with the status quo - continue blaming, and running in circles searching for new ways to cope; or
- Address the root cause.
The second choice is what I finally did - and, it's what we've been teaching other people to do for almost 16 years now.
"An owner's guide to the mind" is our online, self-paced course. It's received a lot of recognition, including being ranked #3 out of 25 in MobileMedia's "personal development" category.
And, people around the world have called it "life-changing."
It's affordable to everyone. And, we provide a guarantee in the form of our unique pricing model:
- you pay 50% for full access to the course;
- you pay the remaining 50% if - and only if - you receive value from it.
If you're tired of coping, you can begin addressing the root cause right now.
Click here for contents and order information.
Steve Jacobson, Stamford, Connecticut:
Straightforward, clear, and effective. Your course is like earning an advanced degree in the workings of your mind.
About us.
We've been teaching mindfulness and meditation for almost two decades.
Since 2003, thousands of people around the world have taken our courses, our free guide to mindfulness and meditation has been shared on the Internet over half a million times, and we've published more than 100 articles on mindfulness, meditation, and related topics.
We released our first online course - "The T.A.D. Principle" - in 2003. Over the next 15 years, it evolved into meditationSHIFT and "An owner's guide to the mind."
Our course has been called "life-changing," and it combines concepts from Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (the precursor to cognitive behavior therapy) and Buddhist and Stoic philosophy. It's online and self-paced, and represents the culmination of almost 20 years of research, writing, and working with people around the world.
Click here for contents and order information.
Nicole Morris, Manchester, England:
Since 2003, thousands of people around the world have taken our courses, our free guide to mindfulness and meditation has been shared on the Internet over half a million times, and we've published more than 100 articles on mindfulness, meditation, and related topics.
We released our first online course - "The T.A.D. Principle" - in 2003. Over the next 15 years, it evolved into meditationSHIFT and "An owner's guide to the mind."
Our course has been called "life-changing," and it combines concepts from Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (the precursor to cognitive behavior therapy) and Buddhist and Stoic philosophy. It's online and self-paced, and represents the culmination of almost 20 years of research, writing, and working with people around the world.
Click here for contents and order information.
Nicole Morris, Manchester, England:
You helped me to stop struggling with thoughts and emotions. Most important, you showed me how to reduce stress and stop being controlled by anxiety. Thank you.
