by Larissa Batt

Graham W Price, chartered psychologist and presenter of an astonishing life skills
training called Acceptance Action Training, claims we’re all crazy. What, me? Never.
Ten minutes into his free webinar and I’m convinced.
He says whenever we’re having a negative thought, such as dissatisfaction, regret, guilt,
disappointment, irritation, self-blame or blaming others, we’re always wanting something
that’s happened not to have happened or a situation that exists right now not to exist right
now. In others words, we’re wanting something to be already different from the way it
is. Price calls this ‘resisting what is’.
Price points out that nothing can ever be already different, so whenever we’re ‘resisting
what is’, we’re having an irrational thought, as we’re wishing for the impossible. I soon
discover I’m ‘resisting what is’ many times a day. OK, so now I know I’m crazy.
Price observes that the only exception to the rule that ‘all negative thoughts involve
wishing something were already different’ is worry about the future. He promises he’ll
convince us that worry is crazy too. Great that he also says he’ll cure it, as I worry a lot.
Not so great that he’s just pointed out I’m even crazier than I thought.
Price says studies show a typical or average person ‘resists what is, or what will be’
between 20 and 50 times a day. On East Enders it averages around once every 7 seconds.
That’s 4,000 times a day for the average East Enders character!!
Price gives us a technique to train ourselves to stop ‘resisting what is’ and replace it by
‘accepting what is’ all the time. He calls it Positive Acceptance
start eating better and exercising more. And so I start losing weight. It works. I’m feeling
amazing. Self-limitation is now a feature of my past.
If this free webinar were the end of the training I’d already be astounded. But it’s just the
beginning. My life is about to be transformed.
Next Price convinces us why worry is also irrational. He sticks to his preferred term
‘crazy’. Then he gives us a tool to stop worrying. A few days later, I’ve stopped. I
haven’t worried since.
Price has warned us that the ‘Pacceptance’ technique he’s taught us is more challenging
when we’re blaming ourselves or others. He’s right. He assures us this will be sorted.
Then it happens. He warns us in the title to his second webinar, called ‘An Extraordinary
Truth’. Then he warns us again, saying “you’re not going to believe what I’m about to
tell you”.
Even before he tells us, he gives us some incontrovertible evidence to weaken our
resistance. Then he tells us in clear words. I’ve heard it said that we live in a ‘determined’
world. I never gave it much thought. But then nobody had ever explained it so clearly
before.
Jack Nicklaus used it to become world golf champion. He apparently told practically noone
about it until after he retired, and then only his clients. Michael Queen learned it from
Graham and used it to turn Northern Rock around after its collapse and later to become
CEO of 3i. He said … “the most succinct, useful and effective training I’ve ever
encountered”.
One of the world’s best known and most successful billionaires is now using it, and
Graham’s other tools, several times a day. He said … “It’s amazing and totally life
changing. Everyone should hear this”.
I’m using the tools many times a day, as are thousands of others. It’s amazing. It’s
changed the way I think about everything. And still, this is only the beginning. Price goes
on to give us more tools to take control of our lives and create the future we desire.
Everything has changed. How I view myself, how I view others, how I view situations
and events, how I deal with relationship issues and challenges, and how I think about the
past, present and future.
Everything is suddenly so easy. I no longer feel stressed. I no longer get dissatisfied.
Regret, guilt, worry and self-blame are a thing of the past. I’m calm, focused and actionoriented.
I’m achieving much more. And my emotional life, meaning my positive
emotions, has exploded. Life has become extraordinary.
I’ve read that Price’s trainings have dramatically changed thousands of lives. I’m not
surprised. He asks participants to judge their satisfaction and effectiveness in work and
life, before and after the training on a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 is the most satisfied and
effective person they could imagine. He’s had a number of participants move from 2 to 9
and 3 to 10. Most move from 6, 7, 8 or 9 to 9 or 10. Checks after six months show the
changes are sustained or further improved, on average for the group as individual
feedback is anonymous.
Another participant says … “If a training could change the world and the lives of
everyone in it, this is surely that training”. I can believe that. This is going to be big.
Price says he believes everyone has the potential to live an extraordinary life, irrespective
of their experience so far. He hopes this training will give us all a chance to achieve this.
I can’t fault him so far.