Tim LeBon's December Xmas Special Newsletter - Personal Development through A Christmas Carol and It's a Wonderful Life

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Tim LeBon

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Dec 22, 2009, 1:55:06 PM12/22/09

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"It's Christmas!", in the immortal words of Noddy Holder. After listening to too many old Xmas records, eating too many mince pies and drinking too much Xmas tipple, what else is there to do but slouch in front of the tele and watch one of the Xmas staples they put on for us every year. In this, your Xmas special Personal Development through Philosophy and Psychology Newsletter, I'm suggesting that if you can see through the haze of sherry and turkey, there might be some enlightenment to be had in a couple of old favourites.

Feel free to forward this newsletter to any friend or colleague you think might be interested.

To enquire about psychotherapy, counselling, supervision or coaching consulations e-mail me at : t...@timlebon.com

My warmest seasonal greetings

Tim

Personal Development through Scrooge and A Christmas Carol

We all know that Charles Dickens knew a thing or two about writing a good story. Rereading A Christmas Carol recently let me to the conclusion that he also know a lot about the human psyche and personal development. I haven't seen the new film version of the story yet, but I wonder if it emphasizes the universal existential themes of the story as much as the book.

For Ebenezer Scrooge, read not just a money-obsessed miser but anyone pursuing material goals more than familial or spiritual. The ghosts of Christmas past and present are a particularly vivid way of presenting someone with lost ways of life - their own past life, and those of their happier fellow humans respectively. Most terrifying of all, the ghost of Christmas future shows Scrooge what the future holds if he carries on in his current misguided trajectory, providing massive motivation for change. I am reminded of nothing so much as some of the methods of psychotherapy and practical philosophy, including thought experiments, guided imagery and pre-mortems, and also the findings of positive psychology , that altruism and gaining a purpose larger than ourselves is more conducive to happiness than making money. Dickens really was ahead of his time ...

For a full page of further ideas and links related to A Christmas Carol visit
http://www.timlebon.com/A%20Christmas%20Carol%20by%20Charles%20Dickens%20-%20Scrooge.html

I was so inspired by another Xmas favourite, It's a Wonderful Life, that I named an exercise in Wise Therapy in its honour
Here it is The 'It's a Wonderful Life' Thought Experiment

Imagine that you had never lived. What difference would it have made?
Do not dismiss this question with "not much, alas", but think careful about how, in your personal, social and professional life, you have

1) Encountered and affected other people

2) Accomplished tasks that were worthwhile

3) Experienced things that made life worth living

Use these insights to

i) Reassess your past life (as the James Stewart character did in the film)

ii) Think about what values you might want to satisfy in the future