1. The 8 Habits of Emotionally
Amazing Living
– Out of Stress, Depressed or Personal
Sadness, to Embracing the Unknown For
Yourself & Others

2. © 2014 Simon Hästö
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may
be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, including photocopying,
recording, or other electronic or mechanical
methods, without the prior written permission of
the publisher.

3. You do NOT have to read through this
book, or even anywhere near, to get a
lot of value out of it; so have no worries.
You’ll likely get value out of every word,
as others have).
Introduction
This book is written 100% to help someone like you. Whoever you are,
at whatever stage you find yourself, I believe as long as you’re someone
who has had dreams and visions – even if you haven’t seen, been aware
of or reached for them in years – this was written with you in mind.
…And, obviously I can’t prove that. But… Whether you feel great and
are aiming for amazing, feel ok and want to feel great or feel like crap
and want to feel at least okay, I can almost bet that you’ve sometimes
felt some of the following…
If you’re like me, it was years since you got tired of professional
psychologists who hand out advice, to someone in whose shoes they’ve
never been, like candy, since you got tired of shrinks who prescribe
something that, at a later point, another psychologist seriously
questions or just those who, when all you need is their presence,

4. comfort and, don’t seem to listen or notice that you’re a human being,
with individual history, individual dreams, individual concerns and
individual ways of looking at and doing things.
I can’t guarantee that I know all psychology theories and methods, but I
can guarantee that this book is written for a human being. And, not just
to inform – because, if anything, over-information is the problem these
days – but to use. And I can guarantee that it’s written by someone
who knows where you’ve been (whether that means feeling not-so-
great, feeling horrible or feeling really good but urging for amazing).
Because I have emotional reference to how you feel – which goes
especially for those who feel really bad, as the strongest feelings create
the strongest memories – I have a huge personal interest and
emotional investment, in helping you get your emotional baggage out
of the way (and I have way bigger plans than just that). If I can help
someone not have to go through what I’ve been through, and that
person lets me know I did just that, I will probably cry. Honest to
fucking god.
Me writing this for you, also means: I don’t know how you got to read
this book – through a personal conversation with me, Facebook group,
a referral or whatever – so I don’t know what you’ve heard, and I don’t
know who you are… what I do know, however, is that the simple fact
that you’re here probably means you’re a person who, somewhere
deep within, has a huge desire to and belief he/she can bring
something big into this world. This book isn’t written for, and won’t
help, people who have no interest (however faraway they think they
are), in doing big things for themselves and others. You may not be in a
position where you can act on your desire right now, through; and
that’s exactly where this book comes in..!
Why you’re in good hands

5. You may be depressed through the bone, at this moment, however… if
I, who have been depressed on-and-off for 12+ years – at points so bad
I lay apathetic, in bed, for weeks, and often feel so down that I didn’t
feel - have managed to become a genuinely awesome person – who
cares deeply about people, is incredible at some powerful, important
and income-bringing skills and more - there’s no reason you can’t do
what you desire.
So, Why Should You Be Reading This Book…?
Well, honestly I couldn’t say that with perfect precision. However, I do
know a few things… I know that a lot of people – especially in western
society – are called depressed, by a doctor, or – and this group I would
say is the majority – are, perhaps not meeting every depression-
symptom required, but are what anyone else would call depressed.
I mean, everyone you see walking around, so dazed, sheep-like and
seemingly non-eager to do exciting things, who long since forgot that, a
few years prior, their standard life quality lay at the level of their
current highs… At every level below exhilarated, deeply present – and
their emotional equivalents – we are in relative lack of nuance in life.
Because of our emotional reality, in those moments we fail to
experience the beauty, power, wonder, enjoyment, achievement,
whatever-you-can-come-up-with that is actually there, then and
there, around us. It’s there, and we have no idea.
We’ve forgotten that another kind of life exists. We’re in a constant,
habitual trance of seeing past it. And those surrounding us may see it,
they may experience it, and they may even talk to us about it and
demonstrate its existence. …But, because we don’t believe in it – or,
rather, because we are currently in an emotional reality where we lack
the tools to see it – it’s just not there for us. And whether that is a
consequence of lack of x or y chemical I don’t know (and this book is
not intended to diagnose or cure any disease).

6. That has been my absolute most nightmarish discovery – when “coming
back to reality” after being depressed. It doesn’t get much worse than
finding out you’ve just spent the last few years dead in all the ways that
matter. Maybe you’re agreeing 100% with me, here, or not at all;
however, if you’re feeling very roused – like, borderline hateful toward
me – I would say that’s a good thing. Why? Because that shows there’s
something in you; you have something to protect, something you want
to get back to.
(What comes below is going to sound very much like I’m trying to sell
you on something; the only thing I want to sell you on, at this point, is
taking of your precious time to read this book. If you need no more
motivation to start reading, scroll down where the text gets a lot
smaller, where the book begins, and start reading!).
Let’s do this – let’s arm you with the kind of methods, mindsets and
techniques that are:
Tried-and-tested (as you probably know, no single method/technique
works forever, or in every situation. …Because of this, in treating my
own depression, I naturally, because I had to, I started coming up with
as many ways as possible, and that’s how this book was born.
Made to hit depression at so many levels, and from so many angles,
that there’s always something you can do. Everything in here is built
on our fundamental physiological and psychological needs, which
makes it very, very powerful.
Going to work in pretty much any mood. (you don’t always feel like
“thinking deeply” or “being simple”! …So, I made these tools based on
many different mental states; when you feel like reading a lot, you have
that, and when you just want to do something, you have that.

7. Fun, simple and enjoyable; tools ranging from finding out how to
finally be yourself around people, to doing enjoyable things to get a
better start to your day, using consistency to get long-term results – in
whatever you’re doing - and using your body in ways that create
energy.
Described in “everyday”, friend-to-friend language, so you can
understand it without re-reading, deciphering - or any other bullshit no
person who was genuinely out to help you would ever subject you to –
There for you to begin implementing immediately (one of the reasons
I wrote this guide, is because I’m tired of people, in real life and books,
who just can’t get down to explaining the benefits, of their endless
theory, and – more importantly – how to actually implement their so
called brilliant ideas)
You shouldn’t, if a bad word here and there overshadow the impact of
the help in this book; the helping hand, you can use - for life - whenever
you’re feeling down. I want you to “send back” this book if you don’t
really care about people, or their ambitions or the realizations of their
dreams, or these things in yourself. You should also ask for your money
back if you’re reading one of the earlier versions, find yourself
constantly thinking “goddamn, this is an ugly book – couldn’t he just get
someone to help polish it…?” – because that shows your emotional
reality is, at least right now, not important enough for you to spend any
money or time reading this book. You should also not read this if you
don’t really care about being honest to other people and yourself
(because reading this will require honesty).
So, How Is This Book Written?
This book is written to be as digestible and easily gone through as I

8. could make it (it’s proof for anyone; however bad attention span they
have or if they dislike reading; and I will explain why in just a sec).
The book is constructed to, first, prepare you for reading it, then
focuses on looking at what you actually have at your disposal (in terms
of potential to feel better), and poses very good arguments for
anyone’s potential to feel better. Then, we focus a bit on giving you an
insight into your own thinking and perspective on how you feel and
that whole thing. Then, it’s time to start taking a bit of action and
dreaming bigger. After that, I go into specific tools you can use; like
using your body/sense, in different ways, to beat and prevent
depression and more.
How Is It Read?
With the above being the case, I really think you can go through it start-
to-finish. I also highly, highly recommend you do that; as, if you don’t,
you might simply be unable to use what could be a crazy-effective
technique simply because you lack perspective; which the initial many
pages of the book give you ample amounts of).
However – definitely don’t read it through in one sitting. …It’s really
dense, and one or two of the perspectives I share might leave your
head spinning (and, to get the most out of that – and the stuff you read
afterwards – you should give yourself a rest at that point).
Which of the techniques do you use? How many? When? Why?
Use your common sense. If something works, use it. If it doesn’t work,
don’t use it. You’ll find that one thing works one occasion, and another
at another occasion, depending on your mood. You’ll find that things
stop working. Don’t stress it – just move around the different
techniques, methods and mindsets, to attack the issue from any angle
needed at the time.

9. If you have the triple-punch down – that of perspective, belief and
action – you may only ever need a few techniques from this book;
because your perspective has informed you that you can do something,
so you have the belief and can then just take and keep taking action.
How to navigate this weapon of massive depression-
destruction
You will find the book is split in a few books-in-the-book; these are "Get
Perspective", "Know your potential", "Look inside to learn", "Act like
depression never held you back", "Embody what you want", "Use your
senses", "Empathy" and “Honesty”. You will also find, that these are in
huge font - so you can easily scroll your way to them.
Navigating via Color-coding
You will find that, different things have different colors here... There is
"Point to take from here" (which is the point to take with you from that
section), you have "Task" - which is the little action I want you to do,
which makes that empowering thing I just said part of your worldview
or get that technique into your muscle memory (for later access).
And you will find sentences in green (this color), in the full version, that
I – for some reason – have chosen to call “golden sentences”, which are
the most profound things said in the book. You will find these,
profound sentences, also at the end of the book where you will also
find all the "point to take from here" just beneath.
Navigating via the search function
When you've found an action - which you find by searching "Action" -

10. which you think would really work for you, but feel a lack of belief in
yourself, you simply search "Perspective" (or, check what "Mindblast"
gives you, if you need a real jolt to the brain). Maybe you'd need to
change your mindset a bit, to kill it with that specific action; and, if you
do, you just type in "Mindset" in the search box.
Carrying Out The Tasks In The Book
However: while I do know how effective tasks are (or I wouldn’t have
included them), I know how being asked to do things can feel, so you’ll
find I’m not asking for a lot, and – more importantly – I give you the
chance to just let what I’ve said simmer in your mind for the coming
days (which is super-effective) rather than frantically trying to “carry
out a task” (which becomes impossible whilst in survival-mode; been
there done that and will not subject you to that).
How to know if the book is doing/has done what it’s supposed
to do
If you, after reading this book, are more awake, feel more in charge, are
more able to think freely, go after what you want and feel more
deserving of love, then everything else is inconsequential. I don’t care
whether you thought the book was well-written – and neither should
you. It’s not meant to be a masterpiece in any other way than in its
effect on your emotional life and reality. It’s meant to be abrupt, to
make no sense (to the logical mind; which can awaken the emotional
mind), be weird, be provocative (in the right way). I’m not out to please
you or anyone else – I’m out to help you get rid of shit you don’t want.

12. Table of contents
Habit 1: Get Perspective……………………..…………………….Page 14
Habit 2: Know Your Potential……………………………………Page 19
Habit 3: Look Inside To Learn (in the full version)………….Page 33
Habit 4: Act Like Depression Never Held You Back (in the full
version)…..Page 52
Habit 5: Embody What You Want (in the full version)..Page 69
Habit 6: Use Your Senses (in the full version)…………Page 82
Habit 7: Empathy (in the full version)……………….Page 89
Habit 8: Honesty (in the full version)……………..Page 106
(We all appreciate and need different text sizes. Feel free to play
around with the zoom function, until you find the size right for you, but
know that that will mess slightly with the directions of the table of
contents and so be ready to adjust a page back or forth).

13. If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend
to see every problem as a nail – Abraham Maslov
First a little trick to make reading this a
whole lot more enjoyable & effective 

14. Simply put on this extremely inspiring,
relaxing spotify-playlist:
http://open.spotify.com/user/renaisscance/playlist/5Y0a31OUzeJo8rpNcZUwk6
Now, let’s get going!
Habit 1: Get
Perspective
A Prepared Mind Is A Kickass Mind (Mindset)
Openness. Without it, nothing is possible and with it, everything is. Things can be done,
because you override preconceived notions of your capability – bullshit you came up
with is exposed for what it is or just blown away by your own performance. I will never
ever tell you to believe in what I’m saying; but you need to be open to what you’re
reading, if you want any change whatsoever (or you’ll just discard it all without trying).
Give it a chance and kick some ass here.
Point to take from here: You don’t need to believe in anything but the possibility
Embody The Opposite of Feeling Bad (Perspective)
Thinking/saying positive words is as effective, for increased happiness, as stabbing
yourself with knives carrying the words “band- aid” on them. Your voice needs to be

15. positive (both the mental voice and the one that’s heard).
Things need to be said and done make you positive – you can’t say “I’m happy” and
expect to be. You need to improve the most important things; your breath needs to be
qualitative (read about this in "Breathe Your Way To Help”), you need to focus in and
activate your body (all the “Using your body” book-section is dedicated to that)
and you need to become sensually aware (which “Senses-Sensei” is dedicated to.
To embody these things... just do whatever works; the result matters and the
method doesn’t. Whatever worked for you – has ever made you relaxed or
activated you – is what works for you so you just do that. Embody the opposite
of the depression.
No matter the potency of what is said, words in this book carry absolute no
meaning, no impact and there’s no point in reading them, if you don’t actually
apply. Words are words, reading is reading – it’s passive. …But words point at
something that can be used, and through reading you understand.
The method is out of the question – it’s irrelevant. I’m never pointing out one
method to be better than another; it’s all in how you implement it.
The point to take from here: Embody and use everything you read about -- as
long as you do that, the method is of no consequence (and, as long as you do
that, you may need only one thing to effectively treat, and prevent, depression)
Practice It (Perspective + Action)
Practicing is the only way to do anything. If you can remember this, there’s
nothing saying you won’t need only very few methods, techniques or mindsets
(to switch between) from this book, to treat or prevent your depression.
Theory is dead. You practice, and create theory of what you, through practicing,
found produces results. The world is always going to be way more complex, and
fast-changing, than for any theory to be able to adapt itself to. In fact, theories
don’t adapt: you adapt the theory. So, a theory is what comes after, always.
Even if there was a theory that took every little thing into account, its sheer
extensiveness would make it impossible to put into practice (it would be the

16. definition of “impractical”). So… try something, and then go with what reality
“tells” you about your just attempted approach, and adapt accordingly.
If you don't try what I said, there, out for real, you can read/think about it for a
hundred years and still have no idea what it means - because you haven't
gotten the experience of what the above paragraph is pointing at. As I said, I'm
not writing about these particular things because I have read or heard that they
are good. I have used them and found them to work.
The realizations you get, here, if you use them, are way, way, way more
beneficial than any reading could ever give. You can use one method - done with
openness to its potency - over and over, and keep getting more impact than
learning all the rest to perfection but carrying them out lacking belief.
One idea, method or technique might be all you need kill off your depression or
improve your life, right now. One. After that one stops working, you switch to
another one thing. While this is true, and may be for you, you won’t know until
you start practicing – so go ahead and kill it with each one, and you may be off to
a fucking spectacular future.
While it’s pretty hard to say exactly what will happen, if you turn these things
into practice, it’s fucking easy to say the outcome if you don’t.
The world’s best method is, unapplied, as productive as no action
Stronger Emotion = Stronger Memory (Perspective)
That’s it. You don’t remember what you didn’t care about. You remember
because it’s worth remembering. But the fact that something is worth
remembering doesn’t mean it’s remembered for us to destroy our lives; but
because there’s learning to be taken from the event.
I’m sure you exaggerate things, find yourself saying things like, “It’s ALWAYS
like this”. In saying that we always fail, we’re disregarding every event that
ever pointed to the opposite. Imagine the impact that’s had on your life so far.

17. But there’s power in this knowledge; and you’re going to find out why, and how
to harness it, by reading below.
Point to take from here: Memories say very, very little about our potential. We
don’t think we suck because it's true. Rather, it's because, we had one very
emotional negative event, that - because emotions give memories strength - we
constantly remember and associate our sense of self to.
What You Can't Accept, You’re Stuck In
If you’re going to be able to ever do something about x, you need to first have a
look at x, know what is up. How do you have a look at something you say doesn’t
exist.
Admit depression or you’re repressing the existence of what is destroying your
life and won’t stop destroying your life until you admit it.
Thing is, being depressed doesn’t mean anything. Admit that you’re depressed
right now, without saying, thinking or reading in into what will be the case
two seconds after. You are. That’s how it is. …But there’s no accepting that that’s
how things will be in five years, five weeks, five hours or five minutes. That’s
power right there.
I have found that, when you fully accept it, stop fighting the way things
evidently are, it's like a stone drops from your chest. Suddenly, there’s
opportunity. You feel freedom. You know that you're really not depressed
anymore, because you know you can do something about it, because you aren’t
your depression.
Three-way Depression Punch
Just wanted to refresh you on this (to make sure you make sure you don’t just
skip around the book). Remember that, nothing is going to work until you think
it can (until you’re simply open). So - regardless of how good something has
worked for anyone else, or could work even for you – if your perspective is one
where change is impossible, your action can lead only to disappointment.

18. Young. Old. Just Words – George Burns, at age 84

19. Habit 2:
Know Your
PotentialYou need to know your potential; because it’s just so ridiculously big. I’m even
going to prove it to you (or, give you arguments you have no way to even begin
to doubt; can’t be done). We’ll back up your potential by having a look at
evolution and I’ll throw a few arguments, for your extreme proximity to
awesomeness, that you’ll laugh at because they’re so hard to argue against.
You Are Life (Perspective + Mindblast)
Think depression is driving you…? Think you can only await its next move...?
All you’ve been doing, in life – and all your ancestors have done to get you to
this point - is adapt. Adapt to what is going on around. Making things happen,
over and over, and over and over, for millions of years. And, everything not up
to the task has been replaced by things (cells) that can.
In other words: You are action. You can’t really be deeply helpless, since you
equal what makes things happen and every single part of you that isn’t up to the
task is constantly being replaced. You, your genes, are the end-product of

20. billions of years of adapting to what is required to live and reproduce in this
world.
Point to take from here: If you weren’t fucking primed for dealing with changes
you wouldn’t be here.
You Can’t See Foresee The Future (Perspective +
Mindblast)
Take a look at this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS9sztfwaN8 - I
want you to pay attention to what he says about the power of small differences.
I'm never going to tell you "this WILL take a month for you to do" about any
exercise, or anything else, in this book. Why? Because I'm too experienced to say
that – things, that for others take only a while, have taken longer for me (and,
things people take long to do, I have been able to do very quickly.) Meaning?
Meaning, you never know how long it takes, so there’s no point in saying
anything about it (…which also means you don ‘t know how long it will be
before you’re taking yourself out of depression using this book as guide).
The results you get depends on how much, and the quality of, action you take. It
depends on your taking action, on learning whatever you could learn from the
action/failure, and then re-engaging in a way where you’re applying what you
learned. That’s it.
...And, what did you see in the video? That you don't know the difference, the
action you’re taking right now, will have for you, (and, you also saw that a great
result can come from a minor difference in approach). Keep in mind, that: when
you're doing horribly, you're still just a millimeter away from complete
success.
As I said, this applies to learning as well. An example, which I will repeat over
and over in this book - as it is the one, I have experienced most illustrative of this
- is my guitar playing. As a guitar player, I went from sucking at it for several
years, barely making any progress and hating the whole thing, and then
changing my approach - read: NOT becoming equipped with guitar genes – and,
after that change of approach, managing to learn blazingly fast.

21. And this isn’t different from person to person; a specific action has the
consequences that specific action has. You can trick yourself into believing in
that your genetic disadvantages (which may or may not be true) are a huge
factor, and act accordingly… but your self-sabotaging because of a belief isn’t
the same as being drawn back by actual genetic disadvantage.
By the above logic (which does make a lot of sense, doesn’t it?) You are 1mm
from implementing what's in this book exceptionally well. You are 1mm from
being a world class guitarist even though you've been struggling for years. You
are... at any point, 1mm away from finding that thing that will allow you to beat
anyone at what you do. Is this true? It may not be completely; but, it probably is
to a way higher degree than we believe when depressed.
Point to take from here: You’re 1mm away.
You’re A Lifetime Of Experience (Perspective + Small
Task)
You can’t even begin to talk against it. I’m not saying what it means for you - I’m
just saying you have it. You decide what it means. I’m not going to bring
anything, up, here – but I’m sure you will come to some pretty exciting
conclusions when thinking of what you’ve learned so far in life. Task: 1 minute
to think about what a lifetime of experience might mean.
You're never more than 1 circle from the bull's eye
(Perspective +Inspiration+Small Task)
See a dart board in front of you. This metaphor can be applied to anything in life,
but let's talk about calming your mind... as far as those efforts go... how much
time would you say you spend in the outer circles, where the mind has power
over you, compared to right in the bull's eye, where you can truly observe the
thoughts and direct them? And answer this truthfully (whether that answer is
80% outer or 80% inner).

22. Now, can you imagine that - when you felt most stressed out and lost in
thoughts - you were still very close to the bull's eye of mental calm? That, the
amount of thoughts that came - and strength of stress you felt - had no real
relation to how far you actually were from calm. I mean, if you had been
throwing darts, how much would you have needed to change approach to go
from the circle nearest the bull's eye to hit the bull's eye?
Have you noticed this, in your life; that you've gone from complete
stress/overthinking to complete mental calm in no-time? I think you have. ...And,
if it can happen once can't it happen twice?
Keep this message in the back of your mind, for a few days. Don't isolate it to
"meditation", but see if it's true anywhere; see if you can go from
stress/overthinking to calm - and the other way! - quickly. See if that happens in
your everyday life.
Perspective (Inspiration)
Everything following an event comes from how the event was seen. It’s all
about how you look at something. …What is x event in the greater whole…? Is
this the thing to set off your downfall, or is it the start of your journey back to
awesome (because both you and I know you’ve been there)? It’s one of those two,
and which one it is depends on the next action (you can’t foretell the future, so
you can’t know what anything will lead to).
Is thinking negative thoughts going to destroy you? Thoughts have no power;
perception of them does. Does it start something or is it the end; if a start, you
feel hope, and if it’s the end, well… then it’s over – you’re done.
Point to take from here: How you look at something dictates what will happen
afterwards.
Your Future Isn’t Decided (Perspective + Inspiration)
Yep, your current situation is exactly what it is - exactly. 100% ...If it's super-
horrible, your life is super-horrible – yep! ......Right now. Tomorrow can be

23. anything. In the coming 7 days, you have a chance to take actions to end up in a
different situation than you were in beforehand. How much different…? Can’t
tell, but if it’s in the right direction isn’t that exciting..? And doesn’t more
improvement come from simply continuing on the same route; the route you’ve
just proven you’re able to take..?
I Know You Feel Unstoppable Sometimes (Inspiration +
Perspective)
I know you have these moments when you see “something else”, in terms of
what you can do – you just have these moments where what seemed to be reality
disappears and you’re struck with how awesome things could be. For you.
Really, genuinely awesome – and not for another person.
It’s obviously not there – because it’s in your mind - but, at the same time, it is so
real you can almost touch it. So, is that real…? Well, if you look back you’ll
probably see that you made things happen that you would’ve never believed
were possible for you (and if it doesn’t seem that way it may be because the
change was gradual; but does it really matter..?)
If, right now, you just can’t imagine having ever felt like that – had those visions
or had them feel that real - I would bet that's because your current state keeps
you from dreaming or thinking positively (I write more about how our mood
makes only certain memories available to us, in other sections; it's really weird).
I'm not a superman in any sense of the word. In fact, a lot of people - including
myself, at times - would call me the opposite (these people are, luckily, a type I
have no interest in engaging with; because they are no supermen for me, while
others are such heroes I can’t even begin to describe it). However, in this non-
superman existence, I have always- no matter how bad I've had it; and, as you
know, things have been utterly and completely horrendous, for years on end -
had these "something else" moments come back. Very, very often.

24. Whether or not these exact visions can be made real is not of much consequence;
what matters is what they make us to. If they make us feel worthy of big things,
won't we aim higher…? Won’t we take actions we wouldn’t take otherwise…?
Won’t we, because of what I just said, reach higher than we would had we not
“imagined”..? And, really... what is a life without dreaming.
What You Can Do When You Feel Unstoppable
(Inspiration + Small task)
We're just in the beginning of this book, so I'm only intending to inspire, and
empower, you to see things differently (rather than go out and embark on
something you have no real belief in), so let's take this slowly... However, I hope
to make you wonder… make you curious about your actual ability to make things
happen. Because, who knows how that curiosity – those moments where you
wonder - affect our ability..? Do you know it doesn’t actually make things
possible…? In any case, doesn’t it seem likely they have to at least move you in
the right direction; better than the moments when we’re completely emotionally
shut off from believing in our ability to change things..?
Task: What would happen if every moment, where you got curious about your
ability, was followed by action? However small the action (and it may be tiny;
tiny becomes large before you know it). This, rather than unfailingly falling back
into the hole of no-hope. ...Or, back to existing around people who lack hope in
themselves, or anyone or anything.
The Power Of One Event, And How To Short-Circuit It
(Perspective)
Most of us have had single events, in some area of life, that have heavily
influenced us afterwards. Influenced us to the point where we formed an
identity around them. Sadly, many of us have negative events behind our lack of
success in an area.

25. …Imagine if whatever negative momentum you had gained – however crazy the
snowball effect was – the only thing needed, at any point, to turn around your
situation was something small. One small thing.
And why would this be true…? Because – let’s say you’re one of those people
(like I used to be and still revert to sometimes) who thinks he’s not very “cool”.
Let’s say, like a lot of people in this situation, you’ve let your whole view of
yourself be built on that one event, at that time. One event. It makes sense that
the viewpoint you have of yourself – socially, or whatever - cannot be very
accurate, doesn’t it. You’ve lived for 20+ or so years, so should one event – a few
seconds, minutes or hours – tell you more about you than the rest of that time…?
Point to take from here: You don’t really have to do anything more than stop
believing in – stop relying on – what one event says about you. If you can simply
stop that – which can be done, given how ridiculous it is to believe in – by
becoming aware of when you’re letting yourself be controlled by the event (read:
feel as that event has made you feel about yourself) - then you’ve won so much,
freed yourself so much from unnecessary bullshit, you can’t believe.
Changing Depression (Perspective + Small Task)
I say the following many times in this book: depression is balance. What do you
make of that; does it give you a sense of knowing or does it sound like mumbo-
jumbo..?
Well, the thing is: depression is maintained only if your emotional life is kept in a
grey state. As soon as that emotional greyness – that balance – is stirred, the
depression is threatened. Makes more sense…?
If you would assume that this is true (and please do, even for just a minute), then
any change – however minute – could have great impact on the way you’re
feeling. Want to try it out…? Then do this, right now (to make sure you don’t
forget it), for a minute: Breathe differently (quicker/slow/deeper/more shallow),
change your voice tone (in your thoughts/the next time you talk to someone),
move in a different way than you do when feeling down. Just varying the way
in which you go about anything goes against what allows a depression to exist.
To change the depression (changing the depression kills it; because it’s only

26. ever your emotional state we’re talking about), a contrast needs to happen.
A great example of (emotional) contrast is a negative emotion. Yes – negative.
Negative emotions are way less negative than neutral. Why? Because they
enforce, empower and drive, change. When you feel yourself slip into the grey
area of existence, just think of something that makes you feel negative (if positive
isn’t an alternative at the time). Just try it out.
For the first time period of doing this (if you stick with it), be very simple about
it, and only put your mental focus on that negative emotion or thought. That’s all
you do. Then, when you have this skill, of focusing, down pretty well, start see if
focusing more on that feeling makes it stronger. The stronger the emotion, the
more of a contrast
Remember, the whole point here – and getting out of depression - is about
change. Only. You don’t even care about doing something magnificent, or even
good. You change – and, when you have a method for doing it, you continue
using that method.
If you’ve done any of the variations I just described, I know you’ve had at least a
slight experience of how variation affects depression (and will want to enjoy that
at more occasions; but make sure you do it – I would choose one of these things
to do while waiting for anything or anyone to happen; whenever you have time
to kill).
Thoughts Are Started, So They Can Be Stopped (Action)
Your mind is in your body - your body is not in your mind.
Your mind is yours; you aren’t controlled by your mind and you aren’t your mind.
The mind is a tool. So, if noticing a slip into some recurring negative thought –
for example, “It’s ALWAYS like this” – you can stop that thought. It’s very much
possible. The only reason it is problematic is (the admittedly not small thing) that
your mind is conditioned to always be active (and you’re even more likely, to
think a negative thought recur, if you’re and you’re conditioned to be negative).
So, what do you do? Practice stopping thoughts. But, you do it when relaxed.

27. While already in a relaxed state, so you leverage the state rather than try and
force relaxation. Just behave as if your brain is an on and off thing; a thought
comes – so the mind is working on another cylinder – and you “go there” and
shut that thought off. …Another thought comes – you shut it off.
You can also do this by pulling your tongue upward; you pull it up to stop the
little movement your tongue is doing when thinking; it behaves a bit like it was
talking. I know – weird – but it’s true and it works. Try it.
Point to take from here: You control your mind.
Change Is Always Instant (Perspective + Mindblast +
Small Task)
Change happens in an instant. Whatever magnitude, it’s instant. The magnitude
makes you think more about it… but all those pre-change-worry and all thoughts
- of what changing might mean and all of that junk - are beside the act of changing
(read that again if your mind wasn’t slightly blown). When you think that
something might mean this or that… can you attach that meaning without it
having to do with reality whatsoever? Is it possible? You know it is.
The whole process of change, from the decision to carrying it out, can take
instants. It may hurt – may hurt a lot – in those few moments, but isn’t that to
prefer over the extended period of worry, uncomfortable feelings, hallucinations
over what might happen (may not have even a bit to do with reality), and so
forth…
When fabricatingpossible meanings, you’re doing the proverbial version of
walking slowly into cold water, as opposed to jumping in. However, compared
to walking slowly into cold water, this torture goes on for a much longer time
and is actually worse (because, as opposed to the physical pain of slowly exposing
yourself to cold water, the pain in this situation is to a large degree imagined).
Task: Imagine if you lived by this. What could you do? Have 30 seconds to think
about this or let it simmer in your mind in the coming few days (the latter, I have
found, is often the more effective way of going about it; as it’s something that
occurs more than once and having to do something instantly can often make you

28. tense up).
Point to take from here:
The pain of change is imagined; since the act of change is instant and everything
else unnecessary.
Your Potential - Why "Realistic" Is Humorous
(Inspiration)
(Read under the headline “High Standards”, on page 35, first). What is said,
there, is true for anyone; regardless of circumstances. Why is that and how can I
know it? Because, as we are products of evolution, we adapt to things. If we did
not have adaptability, we would die; and, in fact, cells that lack sufficient
adaptability die constantly. (I know I’ve said this before; I’m repeating it as a
precursor to saying crazy things). Your body is countering things like cancer, all
the time, and it’s done through adaptation. So – the definition of adaptation, of
making things happen, may as well be “easy”.
So, let’s tie this in with getting higher standards… Can you do it? You certainly
can hold yourself back, by thinking and believing negative things (but that’s just
smoke and mirrors you’re putting up, with your real competence left untouched)
. Why? Well, there’s a pretty strong argument for it… Really – what is the
stronger force – your thoughts, which say you cannot make things happen, or
your (and your ancestors’) cells having demonstrated that you can make it
happen for millions of years?
Even if you have never done something great, your having higher standards will
produce better results.
You seriously can't do anything about the inborn immense capacityyou have to
do things. It's not possible – it’s always going to be there, and there will always be
ways to unlock that capacity. Getting higher standards - and being as open to
your ability to live up to them as to the opposite - is a damn good start.
Point to take from here: Your potential to adapt is way higher than you think,

29. because you wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for your genes’ adaptability.
Why The Past Neither Equals Nor Controls The Future
(Perspective + Mindblast)
Realize that memories are nothing but thoughts. Each memory is one way of
looking at one situation, saved into your memory only because you felt
strongly at that point. Memories are thoughts about events and these events
have already occurred; have all stopped occurring; so how could they control
you?
These events cannot be changed, so they aren’t worth thinking about (other than
if enjoying or learning from). Past events have stopped affecting you, and can
no longer pose actual danger in the same way as a vicious dog, that chased
you, is no longer a danger. The event is a thing of the past.
It’s your choice to keep them alive - and, through reliving them, have them
destroy your life for no reason (and, probably, the life of those surrounding you;
at the very least lower your ability to give them of yourself).
Yes, memories can be awesome - and yes, they can be horrible - but don't spend
your time in the past when you would prefer not to. Enjoy the good ones, to get
yourself in a good mood; but don’t dwell on those either (create new ones
instead).
Simply disregard the negative emotions created by negative memories; while,
when they do pop up, learn something from them (why not something that
would help you lower that event’s negative impact on you from now on).
Making the switch to no longer have memories control you can make all the
difference ( and changes are scary, but you will adapt to them; so that the new
reality becomes the new “normal” for you; and that’s when all the fun starts.
Point to take from here:
A memory treats one angle of an event (so, if can never show the whole picture;
meaning, a negative memory necessarily leaves out positivity that was present in
the situation). A painful memory regards something that happened a long time
ago; so how can it have actual power?

30. No Assumptions = Freedom (Perspective)
An assumption creates a loop in your mind. How? Well, going back to the fear-
of-flying example (read about this under “When Worried, Check The Facts” on
page 27) and what happened, in my mind, because of the clouds… Was it the
clouds’s fault that I feared them? No. Was I fearful because I could foresee the
future..? I was, because I felt so thought I could. What I did was assume
something would happen.
Well, if you go into a situation – any situation – without assuming what you’ve
always assumed… won’t the outcome be different.. ? Maybe you go in, with a
sexy man/woman, not thinking that x facial expression directed in your direction
(or even some other direction) means they think this or that about you, or even
has anything to do with you. …What would follow that…?
And if you’re currently a Casanova/the female version of that, just apply the
above to any other situation. Maybe you assume you can’t make a lot of money
(because no one in your family ever has). Well, are there any assumptions
leading up to that assumptions..? …See how that has a pretty heavy assumptive
quality about it..? That should tell us something.
What you might not know, is that the saying that you become who you hang out
with is exactly true; you “learn how the world is” by those you spend most time
with (and what do these people think that you can see clear evidence affects
you…?)
This also goes back to the whole “be as open as you are closed to a new idea”.
You could actually make a conscious assumption… you could start assuming that
x thing – which, usually, you would have thought not even worth trying,
because you assumed it would not go well - is as likely to turn out good as it is to
turn out bad. You can’t tell the future, so you don’t know if that’s unrealistic.
Point to take from here: By assuming nothing, we open up for experiencing and
achieving different things (going up to a person we would have previous
assumed x because of y facial expression, open-minded will produce an outcome
that is somehow different)

31. Grounding (Action)
Are you standing? Do it. Now, feel yourself weighing against the ground (feel
“through the feet”, so to speak). This keeps you out of your mind, out of
depression and in touch with the world.
I’ve learned to use the word impossible with the
greatest caution – Wernher von Braun
If this made you feel really damn good, and
you think it makes sense to invest time and

32. energy into applying my advice, then maybe
you’d like to have a look at
the full version of this book. Because… I don’t
know where you’re at right now – if you feel
really low on a consistent basis and need
uplifting, if you feel really damn good almost
all the time, and want more consistency, or if
you feel super-good but want those last few %
of emotional fulfillment – but I know time
and energy are way more precious resources
than money can ever be (money can be gained
while time just ticks on, never to be regained).
So… if how you feel in life is important to
you, and you think what I’m saying here will
help you, then I think you owe it to yourself
to at least have a look at this book
https://www.scribd.com/doc/215898348/8-
Habits-of-the-Emotionally-Amazing-Life-
Stressed-Depressed-or-Plagued-by-Personal-
Sadness-to-Embracing-the-Unknown-For-
Yourself-Others