It is impossible for people or events to create negative thinking. So where do negative thoughts come from? Ourselves. I created a metaphor that explains people’s responsiblity for their own happiness. Imagine that you are a movie director. As a movie director you have responsibility for creating a film.  

• You create your negative thoughts. Beliefs that you hold (e.g., that something is bad, that this person wronged you) trigger the production of negative thoughts when the right environmental conditions occur. Beliefs are rules of thumb that your mind uses to generate neative thoughts.  
  • As the director you decide if the film gets made. You create the film with your energies.
• You permit your negative thoughts.
  • At anytime you can stop making the movie. Nothing compells you to continue with your work. There is no law that says you must make the film.
• You explain your negative thoughts.
  • As the director you explain to yourself the reasons the film exists. You describe it purpose and scope. You also develop the plot of the film. You provide motivations for the actors.   
• You justify your negative thoughts.
  • You justify the need for your film. You describe why the film is necessary. You say that the film should exist. You say that the film is a natural result of environmental causes.  
• You ensure that your negative thoughts are heard and confirmed by others.
  • You market your film. You take steps to advertise the film so others can see it and appreciate it.

People do not truely struggle with their negative thoughts, they raise and cultivate them. True, people feel the mental pain associated with negative thoughts, but you are the mastermind of your own negative thinking. All negative thinking is voluntary.     

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 6th, 2006 at 6:00 am and is filed under Happiness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.