How many times do we do the same things we vowed we’d never do? How many times do we go through the same experiences that gave us sleepless and tearful nights? Do we ever find ourselves dating the same person, only having a different face, name and address from our last traumatic relationship? Could it be because we do not know how to break out of cycles? Or is it because we are more comfortable enduring the known no matter how painful and disappointing it is – instead of moving on and exploring what new things life has for us?

If you think you are the person described above, you need not worry or feel pity for yourself. It’s often said that nearly 99.9% of the world is filled with people who are struggling with things they need to walk away from. It could be a toxic relationship, a bad working environment or a habit that we cannot even talk about in day light. Because cycles are a universal problem, many people have written a lot on how to break out of them.

You can walk to the nearest bookshop or check out your online bookstore and take your pick of literature; but I would like to introduce you to one book which has been really effective for me as far as breaking out of cycles is concerned. On first seeing the title of this book, “Never Go Back: 10 Things You’ll Never Do Again”, one is tempted to discard it as just another self-help book you read half way and put back on the shelf to pick dust, without even a twinkle of curiosity about how it ends.

However, you will find that Never Go Back is an engaging book which will cut through the veil of your excuses and help you see the real reason why you keep on going back to things you’d rather not go back to. It will help you diagnose the problem behind the problem. Whether it is insecurity, fear, loneliness or laziness. You’ll be able to know exactly why you are living in the destructive cycles that make up your life. The book does not stop at that. Once you have gone through the 10 awakenings (as the author calls them), you’ll then be given an approach on how to apply the learnings to your life – how to practically get out of your cycles without leaving too much emotional collateral damage in your wake. It is indeed as practical and realistic as a self-help book can get.

At the risk of spoiling the read for you or breaching copy right laws, I will give you a little glimpse into the 10 awakenings the book goes through and let you decide if this is worth your time (trust me, it is!):

• Awakening 1: Never go back to what hasn’t worked
• Awakening 2: Never go back to doing something that requires you to be somebody else
• Awakening 3: Never go back to thinking you can change someone
• Awakening 4: Never go back to trying to please other people
• Awakening 5: Never go back to avoiding short-term pain when it leads to long-term benefits
• Awakening 6: Never go back to being taken in by someone or something that looks perfect
• Awakening 7: Never go back to losing the big picture
• Awakening 8: Never go back to taking the easy path and failing to do due diligence
• Awakening 9: Never go back to ignoring the apart you play in being where you are
• Awakening 10: Never go back to forgetting that life is lived inside out

I wish I could promise anyone their money back if this book does not help them at all, but I am not that rich… hahaha and neither do I gain anything monetarily from the book sales. However, my heart goes out to those who are struggling with cycles; crying themselves to sleep every night because of choices they wish they could not make again, for the 10th maybe 100th time. My heart goes out to you, because I have been there and I know how you feel. But more so, I also know how beautiful and relieving it is to break out of cycles. And so, I would love for you to take a chance on this book.

I won’t say it is easy to break out of a cycle, but I will say it is totally worth it. The joy and relief you feel on the other side cannot compare to the work it takes. Good decisions feel terrible when you are making them, but they feel really good after you have made them. So grab yourself a copy of “Never Go Back: 10 Things You’ll Never Do Again” and make a decision which will change your life for the best.