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ZERO
TOLERANCE TO NEGATIVE THINKING |
REJECT YOUR COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS
Jesus said, “You shall know the
truth, and the truth shall set you free.”
That
statement is never truer than it is for depression. Only the
truth can set you free from your cognitive distortions. When
you look at your distorted thoughts, you have one question to
ask yourself. Is what I am seeing and feeling, the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth? That’s the only way you
can escape from your cognitive distortions. You must know the
unvarnished truth, and relentlessly cling to it.
Every
twisted thought and distorted emotion must be held up to the
full light of day and examined in detail. If it’s not the pure
unvarnished truth, then you reject that thought because it’s a
cognitive distortion.
So let’s
look at the cognitive distortions that could have happened in my
mind after my car accident in New Zealand. Let’s expose them
for the imposters they are and banish them our mind.
All-or-nothing-thinking:
While it’s true your legs are broken and your body is smashed,
that’s just a temporary condition. Your body will heal. Broken
legs certainly are an inconvenience, but they don’t mean your
body is worthless or your life is over. Just because you have a
punctured lung, doesn’t mean you are going to be short of breath
for the rest of your life. God made your body so it could take
a licking and keep on ticking. Count your blessings. You’re
still alive, and now you appreciate what a blessing it is to be
able to walk and breathe normally.
Overgeneralization:
Metal plates and screws in your legs don’t mean your life is
over. And even if they cause some discomfort now, that pain
will disappear once they take the metal out. Even if you get
arthritis in your broken knee, that doesn’t mean your trip
around the world is over or you will never have another
adventure in the outback and beyond. Being in the hospital for
two months is an adventure in itself. If you want to write
about adventure, why don’t you put your hospital adventures on
your web site. There are many people out there who need to know
that accidents may make you stumble, but they don’t need to make
you stop. Don’t stop working on your dreams until the day you
die, because there are still hundreds of places to sail your
yacht and dozens of expeditions to make in your Land Rovers.
Mental
Filter: While it’s
true you can get hurt taking risks, there is no other way to
live your dreams. Furthermore, you have been taking risks for
more than forty years without a serious accident. So face the
facts. You are a good risk manager, and there is no reason to
stop living your dreams. Take off your safety glasses and put
on your sun glasses, because it’s never too late to sail on the
ocean of your dreams.
Disqualifying the positive:
Everything (positive and negative) counts in your life. A car
accident doesn’t wipe out all the good things that have happened
in the past and are happening in the present. Your family loves
and supports you. Since the accident, you have received phone
calls and letters of support from around the world. You had a
fantastic trip across the Pacific Ocean in your yacht, and there
are tons of good things in your life. When you total everything
up, you discover that your blessings far outweigh your problems.
Jumping
to conclusions: You
have serious injuries, but the odds favor your survival. Fat
embolism or a blot clot could take your life, but the chances of
that happening are extremely remote. And while it’s true there
are risks associated with blood transfusions, you would have
died without the blood. So count your blessings and be
confident in the fact you are receiving excellent care.
Magnification: This
accident isn’t the worst thing that could ever happen to you.
You could have died or been paralyzed. Although the accident put
your life on hold, it didn’t kill you. It’s only a matter of
time before you get up off your bed and start walking again in
the direction of your dreams.
Emotional reasoning:
Although you feel bad now because your legs are broken, that
doesn’t mean your life is over or your legs are always going to
be broken. It would be abnormal for you feel good when you are
in this physical state. It’s OK to feel bad when your body is
busted up. That’s entirely normal. Your bad feelings will go
away soon enough. For the time being, you should ignore your
feelings and face the facts. God still loves you, your family
still supports you, and there still is no limit to how good your
life can become.
Should
Statements:
Accidents can happen to anyone. It doesn’t make sense to say
this accident shouldn’t have happened. Are you special in some
way? Is there some reason you should lead a charmed life? Why
shouldn’t you drive a car in a foreign country? You have done
it for years without a problem.
Labeling and mislabeling:
Having a car accident doesn’t mean you are an idiot. That’s why
it’s called an accident. An idiot would be a person who planned
to have an accident, and then went ahead and did it. You aren’t
stupid or an idiot. You had some bad luck and nothing more.
Personalization:
It’s true your kids spent less time studying their
correspondence courses while you were in the hospital, but it’s
not your fault. Your children are responsible for their own
actions, and they have to learn to deal with the consequences of
their actions. You aren’t responsible for things that are out
of your control. When you are flat on your back in the
intensive care unit, you can’t control the study habits of your
children.
This
little exercise shows that dealing with cognitive distortions is
mainly common sense. You don’t need to have a PhD in psychology
to be able to recognize a cognitive distortion when it pops into
your mind. If you are really stuck, then talking to a
knowledgeable friend or mental health professional may be
necessary to turn things around.
If you are
severely depressed and have totally lost perspective, then, by
all means, talk to a physician specialized in the treatment of
mood disorders. And if you have any suicidal thoughts,
professional help is mandatory on an emergency basis.
GO TO
NEXT PAGE
TOUCHING GOD
When God created the world He had a master plan.
God decided that everything He touched would turn to beauty. God
doesn't do ugly. He only does beauty, and He does it on a grand
scale. Beauty is God's fingerprint.
I've been alive for more than half a century and
during all those years I've never found anything created by God that
wasn't beautiful. I think that's why I love beauty so much. It's the
closest I can come to actually touching God. It's like God and I are
living on opposite sides of a two way mirror. On his side He touches
things and makes them beautiful. On my side I touch the same things
and experience his beauty. I can see the tip of his finger and my
finger coming together in a million beautiful places around the world.
THE POSITIVE WEB RING
The Positive Web Ring has eleven positive web
sites. Each site lifts you up, pushes your mind in a positive
direction, and makes it easier to live your dreams. The Positive Web
Ring has something positive for everyone. There's
adventure,
positive
self-talk,
positive
spirituality,
positive
graphics,
positive music,
positive
podcasts, and much more.
The wheel of change always turns in the direction of what you put into
your mind, and the Positive Web Ring fills your mind with good things.
Give your mind a push in a positive direction today. Cruise your way
to a positive life. If you really want to be positive, nobody can
stop you.
PositiveWebRing.com
PositiveSelfTalk.com
PositiveThinkingRadio.com
PositiveGraphics.com
PositiveChristianRadio.com
PositiveButterflies.com
MaximumStrength PositiveThinking.com
ZeroToleranceToNegativeThinking.com
TooManyDrummers.com
GodLovesU.com
Maxingout.com
RED SEA CHRONICLES DVD
When Dr. Dave isn't working as a flying doctor for the Indian Health
Service, He is sailing around the world on his sailboat. Find
out what it's like to sail on the ocean of your dreams by watching
Captain Dave's DVD.
Red Sea Chronicles DVD Previews |
