Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trialBlink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Applying Internal Family Systems to Intimate Relationships
You Are the One You've Been Waiting For by Richard C. Schwartz is a guide to Internal Family Systems (IFS), a therapeutic approach that helps identify and heal parts of ourselves that are wounded or in conflict. It teaches us to access our own inner wisdom and compassion, leading to greater self-awareness and personal transformation.
Let’s start with a metaphor. Imagine that you have a magical kitchen. This kitchen can provide you with any type of food, in any quantity, whenever you want. You inherited it from your parents, so you never wanted for food growing up, and neither do your children today.
One day, a man knocks on your door and offers to give your children all the ice cream and pizza they want, if you will take care of his emotional needs. Of course you say no thank you – your children are happy and full, and you have no need for his junk food.
Now imagine that you do not have that magic kitchen. You are poor; your children are constantly complaining of hunger. You even lock some of the smaller children in the basement so you don’t have to hear them crying – that’s how your parents taught you to handle your problems.
Knock knock. It’s that pizza and ice cream man, looking for someone to fulfill his emotional needs. Suddenly those needy children are fed, and the crying stops for the first time you can remember. Even though the man is demanding, and he grows increasingly stingy with his low-quality food, you can’t bring yourself to kick him out – you can’t let those children starve again.
To conclude this odd little metaphor, the food here is love, and the children are your different parts – the extreme emotions and thoughts we hold inside ourselves. These could be any insecurities or vulnerabilities – a need for attention, or shame in expressing emotion, for example.
We learn – through how we’re treated in childhood, or from expectations placed on us by society – to exile these parts to the basement of our psyches. But they are always there, needing to be fed.
If you have a magic kitchen, then you can provide these parts with the love they need. But if you’re like the second person in the metaphor, then you will take any outside source that nourishes these crying exiles.
This causes us to choose or stay with the wrong person, or become addicted to things that harm us.
The parts themselves are not the problem. Intimacy troubles start because we exile these parts, and deny them the love they need. Once you learn to love and accept these vulnerabilities for the part of you that they are, they can actually be a good thing. For what is intimacy if not the sharing and acceptance of vulnerability?
In the next section you’ll see what happens when exiles take control, and how you can start learning to accept them.
You Are the One You’ve Been Waiting For (2008) lays out the secret for finding happiness and intimacy in modern romantic relationships. Using the established Internal Family Systems (IFS) model, it shows that true contentment and compassion come from understanding and trusting the Self – your compassionate center of peace and clarity. By adjusting your perspective and completing some practical exercises, your relationship can start to flourish like it never has before.
You Are the One You've Been Waiting For (2008) is an enlightening book that explores the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model, helping readers understand and heal their inner selves. Here are three reasons why this book is worth reading:
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trialBlink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
What is the main message of You Are the One You've Been Waiting For?
The main message of You Are the One You've Been Waiting For is that we have the power to heal and transform ourselves.
How long does it take to read You Are the One You've Been Waiting For?
The reading time for You Are the One You've Been Waiting For varies, but it typically takes several hours. The Blinkist summary can be read in just 15 minutes.
Is You Are the One You've Been Waiting For a good book? Is it worth reading?
You Are the One You've Been Waiting For is worth reading as it provides insights on self-healing and personal transformation.
Who is the author of You Are the One You've Been Waiting For?
Richard C. Schwartz is the author of You Are the One You've Been Waiting For.