Monthly Archives :

June 2008

The Best Information Fails If. . . .
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

I don’t understand it! I have been a member of my local YMCA for several months now, but I don’t see a difference in my muscle tone or my waist! It makes no sense to me.

Oh, and a friend of mine went to the doctor, found out he had high blood pressure. The doctor gave him a prescription. He also recommended several changes in his lifestyle. But to no avail! His blood pressure is still elevated. He is frustrated (which doesn’t help the pressure!)

Did I mention that I haven’t actually gone to the gym yet? I probably forgot to mention that. My friend? He hasn’t gotten the prescription filled, and he was telling me about his blood pressure over lunch (he was having one of those big, juicy cheeseburgers and a side of onion rings) that we crammed in between several tough meetings that day. . . .

I recently read a statistic that really bothered me as a writer: 95% of self-help books are never read. Of the 5% that are read, I wonder how many people actually take the information and implement it.

You are probably trying to find some useful information to help you with your marriage. The best information will be of no help if it is not implemented.

I don’t know how many times people have called me and said “I read your book, and it didn’t help at all.” I ask, “what did you do? What did you change?” They usually stutter and stammer a few moments, then admit that they read the material, but they did nothing to actually change anything.

So, if you are ready to change your marriage, don’t just become an information addict! Read the material, then implement it! Those two steps probably put you ahead of 99% of the population!

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More marriage saving information can be found in my ebook, available by CLICKING HERE.

Can An Ebook Really Save A Marriage?
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

That is such an interesting question: can a book or an ebook really save a marriage? The overwhelming answer is “yes, absolutely!” That is the short answer. The longer answer of how any book can save a marriage is little deeper.

First, most people think of “book or therapy” as the two options. “Should we go to therapy?” Or “should we grab that book?” Either/or is rarely a good position. Sometimes, it is “both/and.” In other words, if you are already in therapy, a book can give additional information that can be helpful.

That said, let’s be real: therapy isn’t that effective, according to research. Study after study shows the same thing, that marriage therapy is, by-and-large, ineffective. In fact, about 50% of couples that go to therapy divorce. That is about the same rate as the overall population. In other words, even for those that try to intervene, they are no more likely to stay married than those who did nothing!

More than that, between 8 and 10% of those who go to therapy say that it was helpful at all. That is the percentage that claim to have improved their marriage through therapy!

So, imagine this: you go to the doctor who tells you that you need to go through a procedure that has a 50% mortality rate, and only 10% improve. Who would sign up for that? Yet each year, a huge number of couples choose to undergo the procedure!

Why? Because we have been led to believe this is necessary to save a marriage in trouble. My experience is that a great deal of damage can be done in therapy. Couples tend to re-hash the painful experiences, but with no resolution. You see, the majority of couples therapists work just like they would with an individual (which isn’t always helpful for individuals). But when two people are telling stories about what is painful, it ends up being a fight. Right there, in front of the therapist! And the therapist watchs “to see how they interact.”

The couple needs tools! They need help in finding a new path! What has happened in the past has little to do with what can happen in the future! And that is the problem with couples therapy.

So, what about books? Books provide tools, new understandings, new strategies. In fact, the latest research in neuro-biology is that our brain needs a new understanding to create a new pattern. Talking about what has happened keeps us in the very old patterns that got us in trouble. New models and understandings change that.

And that is the power of a good book. It can provide new understandings by giving new information. Notice, I said a “good book.” There is a lot of information out there. Some is good, and some is useless.

So, the real question is, can a good book (or ebook) save a marriage? Absolutely! If you can’t get a spouse to see a therapist, he or she may read a book. And even if a spouse won’t read a book, you can take advantage of the information and change your perspective. If you change your perspective, you change the pattern. If you change the pattern, your spouse will have to respond differently. If you are responding differently and your spouse is responding differently, the marriage can change.

There is one major caveat here: Books are meant to be read! Buying a book or downloading an ebook will get you nowhere if you do not read it! There are estimates that up to 95% of self-help books are never fully read! So, if you want to judge a book or an ebook, recognize that you must read it. Second, any self-help book will be ineffective if you merely read it. You must read it, digest it, and put it into practice!

So, if you both read a book and act upon it, and the information is good, yes, you can save your marriage with a book (or ebook).

You may wonder why I keep saying “ebook.” It is because this is the format I have chosen for my information. Each month, my ebook is read by more couples than most therapists will see in a lifetime of practice. The reason is because the information is solid (it works) and because it is accessible.

Any time, day or night, you can get my information almost immediately. No waiting for Amazon to ship, no wasting gas getting to the store. Instead, there is immediate access to information when you are ready for it.

If you are ready, grab my ebook by CLICKING HERE!