The Dickens Process: Lessons from Ebenezer Scrooge on How to Transform Your Life

For me the Christmas season isn’t complete without reading or seeing a theatrical presentation of Charles Dickens’ “Ghostly little book” A Christmas Carol.  Nothing conjures the Christmas spirit quite like watching the miserable old miser Ebenezer Scrooge transform into a jolly philanthropist due to a trio of ghostly visitors, the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Future. 

A Christmas Carol is a beloved holiday tradition all over the world but could it be more than that?  Could the key to transforming your own life be hiding in plain sight, cleverly disguised as a heart-warming holiday ghost story?   

Most people are familiar with the story but let’s quickly review the basics.  The tale opens on Christmas Eve with Scrooge as a rich miser who treats his clerk badly and refuses to give any of his wealth to charity.  Scrooge’s nephew, Fred, invites him to Christmas dinner but Scrooge rudely declines – bah! Humbug! – and walks home alone. 

The Ghost of Marley

Just before bed Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley, who died on Christmas Eve seven years earlier and as punishment for his greed and selfishness is forced to drag around heavy chains and money boxes.  Marley warns Scrooge that if he doesn’t change he will end up worse off than himself, for Scrooge has had seven extra years to forge his chains.

Scrooge is frightened by the ghost of his former business partner and the dire warning of his own fate but Marley does offer a glimmer of hope, stating, “I am here to-night to warn you, that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate.” 

Scrooge is grateful for the encouraging word until he learns what form the “chance and hope” will take as Marley informs Scrooge, “You will be haunted by Three Spirits.”  When Scrooge says he would rather not, Marley declares “Without their visits…you cannot hope to shun the path I tread.”

The Ghost of Christmas Past

Scrooge retires to bed and not long after the Ghost of Christmas Past appears just as Marley had warned.  The ghost shows him several scenes from his past the most painful of which is his first and only love breaking off their engagement because she recognizes that she has been replaced by another love. 

When Scrooge denies that there is another woman she indicates that it is Scrooge’s love of money that has replaced her in Scrooge’s heart.  Scrooge can’t deny the accusation and they depart.

The Ghost of Christmas Present

Next the Ghost of Christmas Present appears.  This ghost also shows Scrooge several scenes including the Christmas celebration of his clerk, Bob Cratchit. 

Although they barely have enough money for a Christmas dinner the large Cratchit family is delighted in each other’s company and the house is full of love and goodwill.  But worry is also present.  Tiny Tim, the youngest Cratchit, is crippled and ill and the family fears he will not survive.  

The Ghost of Christmas Future

Finally the Ghost of Christmas Future appears.  Scrooge is terrified by what he will be shown, saying to his supernatural visitor, “Ghost of the Future!…I fear you more than any Spectre I have seen.  But, as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear you company, and do it with a thankful heart.”  The ghost then transports Scrooge to his future.    

Scrooge is horrified as he is shown the aftermath of his own death.  No one has a kind word to say about the deceased Scrooge and his belongings are plundered and sold. 

Then he is once again shown Bob Cratchit and his family.  Tiny Tim is nowhere to be seen and they are mourning his death.  Scrooge cries out to the ghost in anguish, “Are these shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of the things that May be, only?”  The ghost remains silent, leaving Scrooge to wonder.

Scrooge’s Transformation

Scrooge continues, “Spirit!…hear me!  I am not the man I was.  I will not be the man I must have been”….I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.  I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.  The Spirits of all three will shall strive within me.  I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.”

And Scrooge did change.  In fact, his transformation was so complete that, “He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world…and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.” 

The Dickens Process

In A Christmas Carol Scrooge changes only after being visited by all three ghosts.  Behavioral science has since confirmed that change is, in fact, far more likely if you confront your past, present, and future.    

As Dickens seemed to intuitively understand, to make change more likely the first step is to think back to when negative believes or habits first developed. 

Next, you must confront the consequences of these believes and habits in your present life, and face the pain they have caused you.      

Finally, you must project where the path you are currently on will lead if you don’t change.  This is called the “default future” and the more vividly you can imagine it the more powerful it is.  One of the reasons A Christmas Carol is so powerful is because the ghosts’ portrayal of Scrooge’s life is so vivid. 

Because Dickens wrote about this change process so long ago, and so skillfully, it has been named The Dickens Process.        

Motivational guru Tony Robbins is a big proponent of the Dickens Process and includes it in many of his seminars.   A lot of participants think The Dickens Process is the highlight of a Robbins’ seminar, and that it has the most lasting effect. 

In these seminars Robbins has people pick an aspect of their life that they would like to transform.  He then guides them through a confrontation with each ghost. 

The Ghost of Your Past

First, you must confront the Ghost of Your Past.  Think vividly of the actions you took in the past that caused your current situation.  Feel the pain that these actions caused yourself and those you love. 

Accepting that you are at least partially responsible for your current situation is the first step to changing it.  As Stephen R. Covey stated,

“…until a person can say deeply and honestly, ‘I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday,’ that person cannot say, ‘I choose to be otherwise.'” 

Confronting the Ghost of your Past is the first step of transformation.   

The Ghost of Your Present

Next, you must confront the Ghost of Your Present.  Face the reality of your current situation by being completely honest with yourself about where you are and the pain you are currently feeling.

The power of confronting your current situation, and the danger in avoiding it, is best illustrated by the story of James Stockdale, the most senior ranking US military officer held captive during the Vietnam War.    

In his classic business book Good to Great James C. Collins describes a conversation he had with Stockdale.  When he asked Stockdale how he coped with his imprisonment he replied,

“I never lost faith in the end of the story.  I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which in retrospect I would not trade.”

Collins then asked him about those who didn’t make it out, and why.  Stockdale responded:

“Oh, that’s easy, the optimists.  Oh, they were the ones who said, ‘We’re going to be out by Christmas.’ And Christmas would come and Christmas would go.  Then they’d say, ‘We’re going to be out by Easter.  And Easter would come, and Easter would go.  And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again.  And they died of a broken heart.”

Stockdale concluded:

“This is a very important lesson.  You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end – which you can never afford to lose – with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”

Faith in the future is vital, but it will be futile unless you are courageous enough to honestly confront the brutal reality of the present.

Confronting the Ghost of your Present is the second step of transformation.   

The Ghost of Your Future

Finally, you have to confront the Ghost of your Future.  You must vividly imagine the consequences of your current course if you don’t change and feel the pain it will cause you and your loved ones. 

As with Scrooge, this will probably be the most frightening ghost you face, but you must confront it if you hope to change.  Faith that you will ultimately prevail is important but imagining your default future can provide a powerful nudge to get you moving in the right direction.

Confronting the Ghost of your Future is the third step of transformation.      

Why the Dickens Process Works

Podcaster and author Tim Ferris uses the Dickens Process in his life, and has seen great results from it, but he couldn’t explain why it worked so well.  Ferris asked Robbins why it was so powerful.  Robbins responded:

“When we feel pain in one time zone – meaning past, present, or future – we just switch to another time zone rather than change, because change brings so much instability and so much fear to people.  The Dickens process doesn’t allow you to dodge any time zones.”

It turns out the Ghost of Marley was right.  To have a “chance and hope” of changing you have to confront all three ghosts and learn the lessons each of them have to teach.    

Facing My Ghosts

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving I had some chest pains after exercising.  The pain wasn’t terrible, and it didn’t spread, but after about an hour it hadn’t gone away so I told my wife we needed to go to the emergency room.  During my long sleepless night in the hospital, and several nights since then, I have confronted the Ghosts of Heart Disease Past, Present, and Future.  Let me tell you about their visits.     

The Ghost of Heart Disease Past

The first scene the Ghost of Heart Disease Past shows me is my father being taken away from our house in an ambulance.  I am only four or five years old.  He is in his mid-forties and is suffering his first heart attack.  I am terrified by the situation.  I am not sure what is happening or if I will see my dad again. 

I see other scenes of a young and frightened me visiting my dad in the hospital after various surgeries and procedures.  I see his activity limited as he is unable to do many of the things he enjoys without chest pains.  I notice how terrified I was of losing my dad to a heart attack throughout my childhood. 

In the next scene I am a senior in high school.  I am at a lab at the University of Utah with many of my immediate and extended family members.  Our family has been identified as being high risk for heart disease and the University wants to study us to see if they can identify the cause and prevent us from developing the disease. 

My blood is drawn.  My cholesterol is slightly high, but nothing to worry about.  Besides I am young, invincible, and in great shape.  I will never have problems like my dad. 

I am shown several short scenes of me getting letters from the lab over the next decade asking me to return for further tests.  I ignore all the letters, throwing many of them away without even opening them.  I feel great and tell myself I have anything to worry about. 

In the next scene I am in my early twenties.  I am away at college in Provo, Utah, forty miles south of our home in Salt Lake.  On a Saturday morning in October I get a call from my brother, Ron.  He informs me that my mother has suffered a heart attack and that it doesn’t look like she will make it.  I drive to the hospital immediately but my mother dies before I arrive.  I wouldn’t have been shocked if it had been my dad, but I was definitely not prepared to lose my mother to a heart attack. 

It is now clear that I have heart disease on both sides of family.  This should have prompted me to take action but I am still young and active.  I have plenty of time to worry about getting treatment later. 

In the final scene I am at Magic Mountain amusement park, in Southern California, on a family vacation.  I am in my late forties and a couple of weeks before I had started having chest pains when running.  Not wanting to ruin our vacation plans I stopped running and promise myself I will go to the doctor after our trip if things don’t get better.  I don’t tell my family about this.      

Walking through the amusement park I can’t keep up with my family because of chest pains.  I tell them to go ahead without me because I am not feeling well.  I call my doctor that afternoon, still without telling my family, and set an appointment for when I return. 

By the time I get to the doctor I can barely walk around the house without chest pains.  I describe my symptoms and I am immediately checked into the hospital.  I have a 90% blockage in one of my arteries.  The doctor’s open up the artery with a stent and I leave the hospital the next day feeling great.

The Ghost of Heart Disease Present

My next visit is from The Ghost of Heart Disease Present.  This apparition shows me how much my life has changed in the last several years.   

The ghost shows how I have stopped playing basketball, backpacking, hiking, biking, and jogging.  In each case I quit in frustration because I couldn’t do these activities at a level that was enjoyable any more.  My chest pains haven’t returned but I tire quickly doing anything but walking on level ground.    

I try to walk a couple of miles every day but most days that is the extent of my physical activity.  When I try to do more than that I get frustrated because I tire so quickly and don’t see any improvement. 

I notice how I have quit pushing myself and become resigned to my reduced level of fitness and activity.  I am afraid to exercise harder fearing this could do more harm than good.  I have lost the sense of adventure and the competitive fire that used to be such a big part of my life.  These scenes force me to confront the reality of how much heart disease has already cost me.  The pain is real and the sense of loss is great.    

The Ghost of Heart Disease Future

Like Scrooge, I fear the Ghost of the Future far more than the other ghosts I have faced and I dread what he will show me.  However, I know that his visit is meant to help me, so I willingly allow him to transport me to the future. 

The Ghost of Heart Disease Future presents several short scenes of the future me losing more and more of my health and mobility.  Alice and I are not able to travel or serve church missions during our retirement as we had planned and I don’t have the energy to pursue the other goals I have been looking forward to.  I also see scenes of me eating unhealthy foods far more often than I should.

Finally I am shown a gathering at our church.  My immediate family is there.  I see Alice and each of our children.  I also see my brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, cousins and friends.  I anxiously look for myself but I don’t appear to be there. 

As I look closer I see that this is not a happy occasion.  People are somber and speak in hushed tones.  I ask the spirit what occasion this is.  He doesn’t answer but points to the front of the church where I see a casket.  I ask whose funeral this?  The spirit continues pointing but doesn’t say anything. 

Then I hear Alice say to someone as she wipes away her tears, “Yes, he died much too early, but he was just too stubborn to change.”  I ask the ghost, as Scrooge had done before me, “Are these shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of the things that May be, only?”  The ghost doesn’t respond.  I tell the ghost I can’t take any more and he returns me to my room. 

Transformation

Last week I had a follow up appointment with my cardiologist.  We reviewed the results of the stress test they had given me in the hospital.  He said that my heart looked strong, that it showed no signs of damage, and that the blood flow to it looked good.   

He told me that blood markers indicated something was going on with my heart when I went to the hospital but because the stress test looked so good they can’t explain what happened.  Then he told me not to overdo it, but that I should start to exercise harder. 

Between the doctor’s green light to increase the intensity of my exercise and the lessons I learned from the ghosts I feel like I have been given a chance and hope to transform my future.  Like Scrooge I am grateful that the future is not yet written and that I can change it through my actions. 

Unlike Scrooge the ghostly visitors didn’t transform me overnight.  Real life, after all, is messier than fiction, and transformation is difficult work. 

I fear it will take many more visits from the Ghosts, especially the Ghost of the Future, for me to replace bad habits with better ones.  However, the Dickens Process has left me feeling motivated and hopeful for the first time in quite a while and I hope I never forget the lessons my ghostly visitors have impressed on me. 

My transformation is a work in progress but at least it has started.     

Now it’s your turn.  What changes do you need to make in the coming year and what ghosts do you need to face to make it happen?  Facing your ghosts is frightening but unless you invite them to visit you cannot hope to change.

Merry Christmas and a Happy and Transformational New Year!