Irrational to Rational

Irrational beliefs are a hodge-podge of demands, absolutes, and binary thinking. And these are often expressed with shoulds, needs, musts, and have tos. Basically, a bunch of over generalizations that contain demands.

The demands generally consist of a Demand for Oneself, a Demand of Others and/or a Demand of Life. With regard to self, the demand may sound something like “I absolutely must do x or else I am not worthy.” With respect to others, it could be “You must treat me well or else you are not worthy.” With regard to life, it could be “If things don’t come easily, it is not worthy.”

And this is where irrationality can step in - where we can create stories in our head.

Instead of staying in the land of what-ifs, consider asking yourself a couple of questions: “What am I telling myself about this situation?” “Am I looking for approval from another?” “Am I excepting life to always be easy-breezy?”

And from there, you can then identify those potentially irrational beliefs, question them and then choose what to do next.