Voluntary prisoners of distorted visions

November 07, 2018 10:48 AM

Extremes in anything accomplish nothing.

All they do is allow our discouragement to globalize.

And yet, we make this move on ourselves every day. Think of all the examples.

When we feel down, everything we do seems to come out wrong.

When it doesn’t work right away, we consider the whole thing a failure.

When our confidence is fragile, the smallest upset can derail the whole project.

When we make one mistake, we take it as a sign that we’re not worthy and going to be fired.

When we briefly start to doubt ourselves, we make the immediate emotional leap that we are worthless and undeserving.

When our ideas are met with silence, we take it personally and construe it as impending criticism or rejection.

Of course, that’s only a partial list. Each of us struggles with our own tyranny of extremes in many forms.

But it’s tempting as hell. Because it’s easy, thanks to the negativity bias. The low hanging emotional fruit. It’s easier for us to talk about the distortions than it is to talk about the possibilities.

Ellis called these thoughts cognitive distortions. We create extreme beliefs on the basis of a single incident and apply them inappropriately to dissimilar events.

Where might you be allowing temporary anxiety to distort your view of the whole?

Inquire within. Wonder where you might be a voluntary prisoner of your distorted visions. And maybe you’ll realize just how extreme and irrational your generalized beliefs are, just how easy is is to use rational and useful beliefs in their place.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…