Read The Happiness Trap for Free Online Page B

day to dodge, change or blot out unpleasant thoughts and feelings. And when you find yourself using these control strategies, notice the consequences.
    Keep a journal, or spend a few minutes each day reflecting on this. The faster you can recognise when you’re stuck in the trap, the faster you can lift yourself out of it. Does this mean you just have to put up with bad feelings and resign yourself to a life of pain and misery? Not at all. In Part 2 of this book you will learn a radically different way of handling unwelcome thoughts and feelings. You’ll discover how to take away their power so they can’t hurt you, how to rise above them instead of getting crushed by them. You’ll learn how to let them go rather than struggle with them. And you will learn how to see them in a new light, so they cease to be the frightening phantoms of old.
    But don’t rush. Before reading on, take a few days. Notice your attempts at control and how they are working for you. Learn to see the trap for what it is. And look forward to the changes soon to come.

PART 2
Transforming Your Inner World
Chapter 3
THE SIX CORE PRINCIPLES OF ACT
    Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is based upon six core principles which work together to help you achieve two main goals: a) to effectively handle painful thoughts and feelings, and b) to create a rich, full and meaningful life. Part 2 of this book is mainly concerned with the first of these goals: transforming your inner psychological world. Part 3 of the book is mainly concerned with the second goal: creating a life worth living. As we progress through the book, we will work through these six core principles, one by one, but first let’s take a very brief look at all of them.
PRINCIPLE 1: DEFUSION
    Defusion means relating to your thoughts in a new way, so they have much less impact and influence over you. As you learn to defuse painful and unpleasant thoughts, they will lose their ability to frighten, disturb or depress you. And as you learn to defuse unhelpful thoughts, such as self-limiting beliefs and harsh self-criticisms, they will have much less influence over your behaviour.
PRINCIPLE 2: EXPANSION
    Expansion means making room for unpleasant feelings, sensations and urges, instead of trying to suppress them or push them away. As you open up and make space for these feelings, you will find they bother you much less, and they ‘move on’ much more rapidly, instead of ‘hanging a round’ and disturbing you. (The official ACT term for this principle is ‘Acceptance’. I have changed it because the word ‘acceptance’ has so many different meanings, and can easily be misunderstood.)
PRINCIPLE 3: CONNECTION
    Connection means living in the present; focusing on and engaging fully in whatever you’re doing. Instead of dwelling on the past, or worrying about the future, you are deeply connected with what is happening right here, right now. (The official ACT term for this principle is ‘Contact With The Present Moment’. I have changed the term in this book purely for ease of communication.)
PRINCIPLE 4: THE OBSERVING SELF
    The Observing Self is a powerful aspect of human consciousness, which has been largly ignored by western psychology until now. As you learn how to access this part of yourself, it will enable you to further transform your relationship with unwanted thoughts and feelings.
PRINCIPLE 5: VALUES
    Clarifying and connecting with your values is an essential step for making life meaningful. Your values are reflections of what is most important in your heart: what sort of person you want to be; what is significant and meaningful to you; and what you want to stand for in this life. Your values provide direction for your life, and motivate you to make important changes.
PRINCIPLE 6: COMMITTED ACTION
    A rich and meaningful life is created through taking action. But not just any action. It happens through effective action, guided by and motivated by your values. And in particular, it happens