Part 2
9 Mindful Steps to Transcend Depression
The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.
—Chinese proverb
In this part of the book, we’ll teach you nine powerful steps you can use right now to transcend your depression and claim the life you would like to live. If avoidance, fusion, and living on autopilot are the pathways into depression, the way out must be to get present and approach and solve emotionally challenging situations in a way that reflects your basic values. Mindfulness and all of its elegant functions will serve you well on the quest to transcend depression. We will teach you how to connect with your values and create an overarching sense of life vision and purpose, how to live in the present moment, how to remain detached in the presence of reactive mind’s chatter and destructive self-stories, how to be self-compassionate, how to be intentional in daily life, and how to make and keep promises to live by your values. Once you learn to apply these powerful mindfulness strategies in daily life, your depression doesn’t stand a chance!
Here’s a worksheet to help you keep track of your sense of confidence in being able to use each of the nine powerful strategies outlined in this section of the book. After reading each chapter in part 2, come back and rate your grasp of the material presented in that chapter. As before, use a scale of 1 to 10, whereby 1 indicates that you need more help and 10 indicates that you’ve totally got it.
You may already have practical experience with some of the strategies we offer. If so, don’t be shy about devoting a lot of energy to using those, especially at first. It’s best to work your way through the chapters sequentially, as some of the later chapters build on concepts and exercises in earlier chapters. However, it’s fine to focus on the strategies that feel most natural to you. Other strategies may seem new and unusual; they might even fly in the face of what you thought was true. If this happens, try to maintain an open mind. You’re likely to have an aha moment later on as all of this starts to come together.
Further Exploration. If your confidence level is 5 or less after reading any chapter, this may be a signal that you would benefit from rereading those parts of the chapter that were confusing for you. If you still have a low confidence rating after doing a second reading, consider asking a friend or other companion to read it and discuss it with you. This type of interactive dialogue and support can help keep you motivated.