7 Irrational Thoughts That Disrupt Your Life
A lot of us suffer from irrational thinking which can
affect our lives in a dramatic way. It can seperate the successful
people in life from the unsuccessful ones, it can mean the difference
between loving someone and hating someone, it can be the difference
between peace and war. All wars, Yes I mean ALL, are caused by
irrational thinking.
In this post I will look at
seven common irrational thoughts and hopefully if you suffer from
irrational thinking it will help you to change.
1. If someone criticises me there must be something wrong with me
There
are many reasons why people criticise each other but it does not mean
there is something wrong with you if they do criticise you. It means
they have a differing opinion to you which is fantastic as without
differing opinions in the world it would be a terrible place to live.
2. I must always seek approval in order to feel good about myself
Many
people have thought this at one time or another in their lives, however
it becomes damaging when it is an entrenched belief. There is no way
you can please everybody all the time so there is no point in even
trying. Seek approval from yourself and if you’re happy and feel good
that’s all that matters. Yes it’s nice to have other people’s opinions
but don’t go out of the way to please other people.
3. I won’t try anything new unless I know I will be good at it
Many
people suffer from these types of thoughts. Trying new things in your
life is a way for you to grow and learn more about yourself. You don’t
have to be good at everything in your life but it doesn’t mean you can’t
enjoy new experiences even if you are not good at them.
4. It’s not my fault my life didn’t go the way I wanted
I
have news for you; it is your fault. This doesn’t make you bad and it
doesn’t mean you are a failure. You have control over your thoughts and
therefore your actions. You thoughts and actions will determine your
life. If you constantly blame others for the way your life has turned
out you have given all your power away to other people. Take the
control back and take responsibility for your thoughts and actions.
5. I am inferior to everyone else
That’s
just the way you feel, which doesn’t make it true. You have qualities
that nobody else can touch and other people have qualities that you
can’t touch. Recognising your strengths will build your self confidence
recognising others strengths will build their self confidence but don’t
put yourself down when recognising that somebody else is better than
you at something.
6. I was rejected which means there is something wrong with me
This
is over generalising like the person who was rejected in a
relationship, they think it always happens to them and they must somehow
be unworthy of love. People reject others due to differing ideals,
just like you do, but it doesn’t mean you are in any way unworthy it
just means your ideals don’t match someone else’s ideals.
7. If I feel happy about life something will go wrong
Another
common irrational thought. You deserve all the happiness you make for
yourself; your past is your past, if there are still issues lurking from
your past that is blocking you to feel happy about today speak to
someone about it. Do not tinge your present and future thoughts with
bad memories or else your present and future thoughts will get infected
and your life will always stay the same.
How to stop your irrational thoughts
Simple!
Just catch yourself every time you have an irrational thought or self
defeating thought and replace the wording of your internal thought. For
example:
You are driving on a beautiful day and a bird decides to shit on your car. You might think:
“that always happens to me, why do they always shit on my car”
To
“It’s about time I got the car washed”.
Look
for the keywords in there “always”, this is an untruth. If birds
always shit on his car his car would be floating in the stuff. So catch
yourself with untrue statements such as:
“always” e.g. I always get caught in the rain (If that were true you’d be a fish)
“I
never……………………” e.g. “I can never get a parking space.” (If that were
true you wouldn’t be able to go anywhere in your car without stopping).
“I couldn’t……” e.g. “I couldn’t walk a mile” (have you tried?).
“I’m hopeless at……………”e.g. “Oh, I am hopeless at talking in a group.” (usually said whilst talking to a group of friends).
“It’s terrible……” e,g. “Isn’t it terrible that it’s raining?” (Eh! No, it’s not terrible).
There
are a lot more irrational thoughts out there and you have to be
conscious to catch yourself thinking them. I hope this article helps
you to catch your irrational thoughts and brings your life into
perspective
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