Discover a Life Filled with Passion, Meaning, and Purpose New York Times bestselling author Debbie Ford leads us into the heart of the duality that unknowingly operates within each one of us. Providing the tools to end self-sabotage, Ford ultimately knocks down the façade of the false self and shows us how to heal the split between light and dark and live the authentic life within our reach. “In this book, Debbie Ford brilliantly exposes the greatest human tragedy: the loss of the authentic self by ineffective parenting and the resulting split that ravages the life of the self and its consequences for others. I heartily recommend this book to everyone.” - Harville Hendrix, Ph.D., author of Getting the Love You Want “Anyone who reads this book will find the means to become whole once again.” - Deepak Chopra, author, Third Jesus: The Christ We Cannot Ignore “This masterpiece of unflinching clarity is Debbie Ford’s most important and brilliant book.” - Andrew Harvey, author of Son of Man “...a sage discussion of the dualistic nature of the human mind...” - Richard Moss, MD, author of The Mandala of Being “An exceptionally helpful book.” - Paul Babiak, Ph.D., coauthor of Snakes In Suits: When Psychopaths Go To Work “Debbie Ford has an amazing way of casting light onto our personal darkness. She’s done it before, and now she’s done it again. She’s a great explorer of our depths.” - Marianne Williamson, author of The Age of Miracles “Debbie Ford has hit a spiritual bullseye in this extraordinary roadmap to self-understanding, compassion, and what we all want most -- happiness. I was touched, inspired, and enlightened by Debbie’s masterful blend of wisdom and heart. This landmark book will help many people.” - Alan Cohen, author of Why Your Life Sucks and What You Can Do About It Discover a Life Filled with Passion, Meaning, and Purpose New York Times bestselling author Debbie Ford leads us into the heart of the duality that unknowingly operates within each one of us. Providing the tools to end self-sabotage, Ford ultimately knocks down the façade of the false self and shows us how to heal the split between light and dark and live the authentic life within our reach. DEBBIE FORD (October 1, 1955 - February 17, 2013) is the national bestselling author of Dark Side of the Light Chasers, Secret of the Shadow, Spiritual Divorce, The Right Questions, The Best Year of Your Life, Why Good People Do Bad Things , and The 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse . Why Good People Do Bad Things How to Stop Being Your Own Worst Enemy By Debbie Ford HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2009 Debbie Ford All right reserved. ISBN: 9780060897383 Chapter One The Beach-Ball Effect Why Good People Do Bad Things is a powerful inquiry into the hidden forces that drive us to commit unbelievable acts of self-sabotage and self-destruction. We've all heard the stories; they show up on the evening news, on the front page of newspapers, and as headlines in the weekly tabloids: the Olympic sports hero who falls from grace after being accused of injecting steroids; the TV evangelist who gets arrested for soliciting prostitutes; the schoolteacher who carries on an affair with one of her students; or the baseball star who gambles on his own games. These are the public demonstrations of good people who have gone astray, and they have become our national obsession. But countless other acts of self-destruction and unthinkable acts of cruelty take place, unbeknownst to us, in our own backyards: the successful eye surgeon who gambles his kids' college tuition away; the public official who takes a bribe; the PTA mom who is having an affair with her best friend's husband; the hospital administrator who commits insurance fraud; or the financial manager who embezzles money from his clients. These are people whom most of their peers would consider good people, not common criminals, psychopaths, or sociopaths whose histories might predict their unscrupulous behavior. These are people like you and me, people who started out with big dreams for their future. But despite their good intentions, these so-called good people did some very bad things, most often without even understanding why. Our society is rampant with acts of self-destruction that leave most of us perplexed and asking, "Why did he or she do that? Why did I do this? How could this happen?" Self-sabotage is the proverbial hammer over the head that finally wakes us up, demanding that we pay attention. For most of us, it takes something devastating to crack us open, to get us out of our minds and into our hearts. It takes the pain of a broken heart and shattered dreams to push us beyond the limited realities we have created for ourselves. We are spiritual beings whether we want to admit it or not, and inherent in our DNA is a design to return us home?home to our true essence, our greatest self, our limitless self. One of the ways we unconsciously ensure our return