Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Only Four Choices to All Life's Issues

Something Bothering You? Only Four Things You Can Do
Marsha Linehan, Ph.D.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy, developed by Marsha Linehan, Ph.D., is a research-based therapy full of useful psychological facts. One energy saving realization is that no matter what's going on, there are only four things you can do. I love the simplicity of that. First, you can solve the problem. Come up with a solution. Brainstorm all the possibilities you can. Then challenge those solutions. What could happen to make them ineffective. Then implement the solution that fits you best, with a plan to deal with the roadblocks that are predictable. Second, you can change your perception of the problem. If you can't get rid of the banana trees in your yard, then learn to love those banana trees. Third, you can radically accept what is going on. This means completely accepting the way things are. You don't have to agree, or like what is happening, but you fully accept it. This is a lot like que sera, sera and letting go of what you can't control. Fourth, you can stay miserable.

Your choice.

1 comment:

  1. This reminds me of something in BOOK IN A MONTH by Victoria Lynn Schmidt. She says that, as your hero approaches the story's climax, he has 4 options. He can:
    Obtain his goal;
    Abandon his goal for a new one;
    Try but fail to achieve his goal; or
    Give up.

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