The World According to Beck

Here is the state of American society today:

"...Nancy believes that she will never make enough money to truly relax. Although she performs her job with desperate intensity and makes a very high salary, every time she gets a raise or a bonus, she manages to incur expenses that keep her financial situation at exactly the point that matches her expectation of "not quite enough.

Gerard has a similar issue with time. He's always so busy he has little time for personal pleasure, family outings, or even sleep. Though he complains about this every day, his underlying unarticulated expectation is "I am worthwhile only if I'm constantly doing something." He won't Form a more open schedule until he correct this use of his Imagination.

Polly feels isolated, unable to find a romantic partner or even friends who really "get" her. Though she works very hard at connecting with people, her expectations were set duing a childhood that combined her loneliness as the only child of a hard-working mother with high academic achievement that meant few of her classmates could keep up with her. Her expectations, not her deliberate thoughts, are dominating everything she Forms..."

-- from Martha Beck