Why We Should Address Problems Promptly
I just started reading The Road Less Traveled. I read it years ago, but because the cover calls it "The Timeless Classic," I gave myself permission to read it again, especially since it was the old struggling me and not the new joyful me that read it before. The author is the late M. Scott Peck. Here is a short video that summarizes some lessons from the book. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_cuVMC7NcI
In the introduction, Dr. Peck tells how slowly the first printing of his book filled shelves. Eventually, word of mouth popularized it via different routes. "One of them was Alcoholics Anonymous. Indeed, the very first fan letter I received began, 'Dear Dr. Peck, you must be an alcoholic!' The writer found it difficult to imagine that I could have written such a book without having been a long-term member of A.A. and humbled by alcoholism."
I'm just a few pages into the first chapter but I like the following advice. He tells of a woman who hated her job. The author asked about the parts of her job she did like, and then he asked when she did those tasks. She said she did them in the morning, which meant that throughout her day, she was dreading the negative aspects of the job that she knew she had to complete before going home. The bad stuff was only 10% of her day but darkened the other 90%.
Dr. Peck suggested she do the negative tasks first, She did and found the remaining part of her day more pleasant because she was free to focus on the fun stuff.
The moral of the story is that delayed gratification, which most of us as adults often ignore, leads to mental and emotional problems.
"The tendency to avoid problems and the emotional suffering inherent in them is the primary basis of all human mental illness."
In the introduction, Dr. Peck tells how slowly the first printing of his book filled shelves. Eventually, word of mouth popularized it via different routes. "One of them was Alcoholics Anonymous. Indeed, the very first fan letter I received began, 'Dear Dr. Peck, you must be an alcoholic!' The writer found it difficult to imagine that I could have written such a book without having been a long-term member of A.A. and humbled by alcoholism."
I'm just a few pages into the first chapter but I like the following advice. He tells of a woman who hated her job. The author asked about the parts of her job she did like, and then he asked when she did those tasks. She said she did them in the morning, which meant that throughout her day, she was dreading the negative aspects of the job that she knew she had to complete before going home. The bad stuff was only 10% of her day but darkened the other 90%.Dr. Peck suggested she do the negative tasks first, She did and found the remaining part of her day more pleasant because she was free to focus on the fun stuff.
The moral of the story is that delayed gratification, which most of us as adults often ignore, leads to mental and emotional problems.
"The tendency to avoid problems and the emotional suffering inherent in them is the primary basis of all human mental illness."
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