There Must Be More Than This: Finding More Life, Love and Meaning by Overcoming Your Soft Addictions [Paperback]

Judith Wright (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 2003

There IS more than this and you can have it! What keeps us from living the rich, fulfilling lives we desire? Judith Wright has found that too often we are tripped up by our dependence on seemingly harmless habits like shopping, watching TV, gossiping, and surfing the net. These are soft addictions, and they form a powerful net that traps us, preventing us from having more love and meaning in our lives. They fill up our time, but leave us feeling empty, asking, “Is this all there is to life? There must be more than this.”

Judith Wright’s fresh perspective and proven program invite you to overcome your soft addictions and discover MORE–a full, engaging life of more intimacy, purpose, joy, satisfaction and love. She promises a life in which you advance your goals and your vision every day. You will live more purposefully and feel more intensely, stop asking the small questions and start asking the big ones. You will fill your life with meaningful activity, and your soft addictions will fall away.

Educator and life coach Judith Wright coined the term soft addictions™ after years of working with students who came to her courses to get more out of life. They would experience insights in class but be unable to fully apply them to their lives. Wright found that her students were limiting their experience and enjoyment of life by engaging in unsatisfying routines. She discovered that these time wasters and draining habits, which she named soft addictions, have a powerful hold on us because they satisfy certain wants–to zone out, feel busy, numb painful feelings, or avoid anxieties–but ignore deeper hungers for love, beauty, spirituality and meaning. They substitute a superficial high or sense of activity for a sense of genuine purpose and fulfillment. In a very real sense, we become hooked on these habitual behaviors. But unlike drugs or alcohol, our soft addictions arrive in the seductive guise of a “normal,” socially acceptable activity.

There Must Be More Than This helps you identify and fulfill the deeper longings behind your soft addictions. Judith Wright’s eight-step program has now been used by hundreds of her students to overcome their soft addictions and open up their lives to a greater sense of purpose and happiness. There Must Be More Than This shares her methods, along with real-life, inspirational stories of success. Invite More into your life and know that you are living the life you were meant to live.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"There Must be More Than This addresses the subtle sabotage that underlies the majority of people's behavior. It is timely, appropriate, and important for those who want to illuminate their choices, and change their behaviors in order to -fulfill their lives."
Chérie Carter-Scott, Ph.D., author of Negaholics: How to Overcome Negativity and Turn Your Life Around and If Life is a Game, These are the Rules: Ten Rules for Being Human


"It is very revealing just how much of what we do follows certain recurring patterns we are barely aware of, if at all. Judith Wright will share with you insights that will alter your self-perspective forever. And that's a good thing!
-James Redfield, author of The Celestine Prophecy


"There Must Be More Than This is an invitation to move beyond our soft addictions to create a life of true fulfillment and purpose.  With a heartfelt and gentle touch, Judith inspires us to make life choices that nourish and uplift us. "
-Debbie Ford, author of The Right Questions and The Dark Side of the Light Chasers


“Sometimes a small shift in perspective can open up a new world. That's what Judith Wright helps people do. She shows us how to transcend the numbing pressures of life and emerge into a transformed, fulfilling level of existence. If you have the feeling that there is more to life awaiting you, this could be the nudge you need.”
-Larry Dossey, M.D., author of Healing Beyond the Body, Reinventing Medicine, and Healing Words


"Bravo to Judith for offering a fresh new way to help us slow down, cut the trivia, and create the meaningful lives we're all yearning for."
-Janet Luhrs, author of The Simple Living Guide, Simple Loving, and publisher of the quarterly Simple Living Oasis.

From the Inside Flap

There IS more than this and you can have it! What keeps us from living the rich, fulfilling lives we desire? Judith Wright has found that too often we are tripped up by our dependence on seemingly harmless habits like shopping, watching TV, gossiping, and surfing the net. These are soft addictions, and they form a powerful net that traps us, preventing us from having more love and meaning in our lives. They fill up our time, but leave us feeling empty, asking, ?Is this all there is to life? There must be more than this.?

Judith Wright?s fresh perspective and proven program invite you to overcome your soft addictions and discover MORE?a full, engaging life of more intimacy, purpose, joy, satisfaction and love. She promises a life in which you advance your goals and your vision every day. You will live more purposefully and feel more intensely, stop asking the small questions and start asking the big ones. You will fill your life with meaningful activity, and your soft addictions will fall away.

Educator and life coach Judith Wright coined the term soft addictions? after years of working with students who came to her courses to get more out of life. They would experience insights in class but be unable to fully apply them to their lives. Wright found that her students were limiting their experience and enjoyment of life by engaging in unsatisfying routines. She discovered that these time wasters and draining habits, which she named soft addictions, have a powerful hold on us because they satisfy certain wants?to zone out, feel busy, numb painful feelings, or avoid anxieties?but ignore deeper hungers for love, beauty, spirituality and meaning. They substitute a superficial high or sense of activity for a sense of genuine purpose and fulfillment. In a very real sense, we become hooked on these habitual behaviors. But unlike drugs or alcohol, our soft addictions arrive in the seductive guise of a ?normal,? socially acceptable activity.

There Must Be More Than This helps you identify and fulfill the deeper longings behind your soft addictions. Judith Wright?s eight-step program has now been used by hundreds of her students to overcome their soft addictions and open up their lives to a greater sense of purpose and happiness. There Must Be More Than This shares her methods, along with real-life, inspirational stories of success. Invite More into your life and know that you are living the life you were meant to live.


From the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 247 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (December 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076791340X
• ISBN-13: 978-0767913409
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,591,450 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It Works, April 25, 2003

By 

Blessedbybooks "Blessedbybooks" (Portland, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: There Must Be More Than This : Finding More Life, Love and Meaning by Overcoming Your Soft Addictions (Hardcover)

I am skeptical of "Psychobabble" self help books but this
was an exception. Ms Wright's approach is practical and
workable. I realized quickly what situations triggered
my soft addictions, like checking my email every minute or
so. The book provided techniques for being aware of what
situations trigger the zone out mode that characterizes
soft addictions. Instead of drifting unconsciously into
fiddling around on email, checking discussion boards or
bids on ebay, I can step back and ask myself "What are you
avoiding by doing this?" The technique has definitely cut
my time wasting.

Lisa N

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Use this Book to Build a Better Life, April 16, 2003

By 

Peter B Bloch (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: There Must Be More Than This : Finding More Life, Love and Meaning by Overcoming Your Soft Addictions (Hardcover)

If you feel adrift and dissatisfied in life, Judith Wright's "There Must Be More than This" may be just what you need. Ms. Wright is co-founder of the Wright Institute for Lifelong Learning where people learn to fulfill their potential in all areas of their lives -- work, relationships, self and spirit. She offers you new ways of thinking about life and new ways to behave. These could make a world of a difference. The core of this approach is that you are thoroughly coached on how to make "the One Decision." The process is one of soul-searching and commitment in which you discover what you really hunger for in life and begin reorienting your thinking, feeling and behaviour. The One Decision becomes your rudder in the stormy seas of life. By giving you a firm "heading" your commitment becomes the foundation for a new, conscious, purposeful life. Once you make your One Decision, then you can begin studying your life and eliminating your "soft addictions." Soft addictions, simply, are patterns of feeling, thinking or behaving that keep you from experiencing what you really hunger for in life. Examples are excessive TV watching, Internet, video games, compulsive reading, over-exercising and indulging in moods that distract you from the beauty of life that lies around us. None of these is necessarily a "soft addiction." The test is what effect they have on your search for what you hunger for in life. By helping you to find a purpose for your life and to redefine thinking that does not work for you, this book can help you to make a breakthrough by building a new, more complete life. Its usefulness is enhanced because it contains the stories of many people who have successfully used this approach to build a far richer life. Just by reading these stories carefully, you can begin to understand the power of this method and can gain increased commitment to fulfilling your One Decision. There seems to me to be follow-up work that you may also do after reading this book. Ms. Wright hints at it, but has not yet helped you to go deeper. Several times, Ms. Wright hints that her clients have decided to meditate. That is, of course, a time-honoured way to find purpose in life by accepting sheer being, without any need to "do" anything. In my life, meditation provided a direct experience of what can only weakly be described as the God within. Meditation led me to experiences that go beyond words. It also produced visions and insights that sprung from the depths of my being and have provided an anchor that does not require that I create a verbal definition. I hope Ms. Wright will fill this gap by producing a follow-up book on self-discovery through meditation.

109 of 126 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Book is based on Christian values, March 14, 2005

By 

Paul Konasewich "see my blog on Social Enterp... (San Mateo, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: There Must Be More Than This: Finding More Life, Love and Meaning by Overcoming Your Soft Addictions (Paperback)

There are some interesting ideas presented here. However it isn't a book for everyone: it is written from a devout Christian point of view.

If the authors were more clear about that on the cover and in the description, then that would be fine. But there weren't any clues until I started reading the text.

Here's an example from page 139: "We are meant to be addicted to God, but we develop secondary addictions that temporarily appear to fix our problem."

As an alternative, I'd suggest an awareness practice. They tend to be based on the same core material, and can work hand-in-hand with any set of spiritual beliefs.