Author(s): Debbie Ford

Motivation

We've all heard the stories - some of them show up on the evening news and as headlines on the weekly tabloids, these public demonstrations of good people going astray dominate the media, but countless other examples take place, unbeknownst to us, in our own backyards. Birthed out of fear and shame, it is the wounded aspect of our ego that misdirects good intentions and drives us to act out and self-destruct. "Why Good People Do Bad Things" exposes the two contradictory forces that exist within each one of us: the force that compels us to expand our ability to give and receive love, and be a contributing member of our community; and the force that holds us back, sabotages our best efforts, and repeatedly steers us in a direction that is inconsistent with our values.Ford provides eight archetypes or personas that come to the surface in each of us when our dark side rears its ugly head. Each of these personality types live within us waiting for an opportunity to sabotage our best intentions and sidetrack our lives. They take the form of either an aggressor or a victim, a predator or prey.