The story of americans

1. You are miserably overweight and have no energy, yet consume a diet high in processed food, sugar and toxins.

In this case, you do something daily that jeopardizes your life and makes you miserable, and don't stop. You may believe that your weight has nothing to do with your diet (it does), or that you cannot help yourself (you can) or that junk food has strange power over you (it doesn't).

You may be waiting for that day to arrive in which your motivation will magically kick in (it won't come on its own).

2. Average Joe hears about environmental disasters and rampant poisoning of the environment and assumes if there were any real danger, he would be told.

Radioactive waste is pouring into the ocean at Fukishima. GMO's and pesticides are poisoning the food supply. Toxins are loaded into vaccines and pharmaceutical drugs - and it is being called medicine.

But, hey, if there were any real danger, someone would tell us, right? (wrong). The people who are poisoning you actually would rather you remain in the dark.

3. The government has mismanaged funds worse than a severe gambling addict, but you aren't prepared for a global financial catastrophe.

Irrecoverable debt, grossly mismanaged funds, absolute corruption - and these are the people with the keys to your financial future. Still, you tell yourself that there is nothing you can do about it (wrong - ask any prepper what you can do). You assume they will work everything out (decades of evidence to the contrary).

4. You act as if material goods give you happiness. When they don't, you seek more material goods.

When that shiny new car begins to fade after a couple of months, you seek fulfillment in other stuff, like a new computer, furniture, a new watch, new clothes, etc...You trawl your favorite online retailer in the evenings looking for what else you might 'need.' (You don't need most of what you own. You already know happiness comes from within).

5. Raw, organic fruits and vegetables are clearly the healthiest foods on the planet, but your diet contains less than 10% of these.

It's too inconvenient (false). I don't like them (easily overcome). They make me feel sick (because you need to get used to them). They are too expensive (wrong again).

6. A parent complains about a spoiled child, but continues to spoil.

You give your child everything he wants. That child soon learns that you must be in the wrong when he doesn't get what he wants.

As a parent, you may believe it is easier to just give in (it isn't). You may think your child deserves to have everything (its not about that). Your may be to avoid conflict (you aren't - you're creating more conflict).

7. You have low self-esteem, but pile on with daily self-condemnation.

You may suffer with low self-esteem, but criticize and punish yourself inside at every opportunity. You might think you deserve it (you don't). You might think it is your parent's fault (no longer true). You might think you cannot help it (you can).

8. You under perform on the job and think you deserve more out of your employer.

Under performance is rampant in today's workplace. Those who chronically underperform are delusional about themselves. They may think working hard is not worth it because there is no reward (self-respect is the reward). They may justify it by blaming bad management (just an excuse). They may say they will work harder if they were paid more (false).

9. A tortured woman stays with the man who mistreats her.

A woman who just wants to be treated with respect chooses men who offer no respect. She may believe she can change him (she can't). She might tell herself she deserves to be abused (she doesn't). She may insist that all men are scum anyway (not all men are scum).

10. Someone who feels momentarily happy is convinced that bad news is just around the corner and thus abandons the happy state.

Some people actually feel unsafe when they are happy. Happiness makes them feel vulnerable, as if something bad were about to happen. So, they sabotage the happiness in order to return to something more familiar, like self-deprivation.

They may believe happiness is not possible (not true). They may believe they don't deserve happiness (false). They might fear happiness because it is a sign that bad news is on its way (not necessarily true).

11. A person with great potential fears success even though there is nothing to be afraid of.

You deny yourself real opportunities because you are afraid of success. You might think that success will create too much pressure (wrong). You could be thinking that success creates unrealistic expectations that you will have to live up to forever (again, not so). You may think you don't deserve success (wrong again).

12. A busy person complains of too much stress, but won't slow down.

Some people complain about stress, then ramble on about how much they have going on in life that they "just can't handle."

Why don't you slow down? That would alleviate some of the stress, right? Next comes the excuses: Oh I just can't. Life is just too chaotic. My spouse would freak out. My kids need me too much. I can't say no. (All - false!)