MOST OF OUR UPSETTING EMOTIONS ARE FUELED BY UNREALISTIC OR IRRATIONAL THOUGHTS. LOGICALLY DISPUTING AND CHALLENGING OUR IRRATIONAL ASSUMPTIONS IS WORTH ENGAGING WITH TO ALTER OUR COGNITIONS AND IDENTIFY ALTERNATIVE, MORE HELPFUL WAYS OF PERCEIVING OUR SITUATION.
Our very determination to disprove our irrational thoughts and beliefs can give us a good measure of satisfying peace, empowerment and fulfilment.
We develop healthy, realistic cognitions or perceptions by being aware of our negative, irrational thoughts and beliefs and disputing the irrationality at their core. This process leads us to identify more realistic and helpful ways of perceiving our situations.
Most of our upsetting emotions are fueled by unrealistic or irrational thoughts. Logically disputing and challenging our irrational assumptions is worth engaging with to alter our cognitions and identify alternative, more helpful ways of perceiving our situation. Hereunder is a list of irrational beliefs tabulated against their logical disputing statements:
| BELIEF | LOGICAL STATEMENT |
| Everyone must love and approve of me. | For me to expect everyone to like me is unrealistic. I will still be OK even if some people don’t like me. |
| Competent, adequate and achieving are what I must be in all respects. | I am uniquely talented, and so, my performance in certain areas will be stronger than in others. |
| I should always be treated fairly. | Injustice is a reality in our world, and its chances of meeting me cannot be ruled out. It will not be the end for me if it does meet me. |
| People must do things my way and share similar values and beliefs with me. | Our backgrounds and personal experiences are unique. Therefore, people are bound to have different values and beliefs from my own, and it’s alright. |
| Certain people should be seen as bad because of their actions. | Inconsiderate behaviour sometimes comes from people. The behaviour may be unacceptable, but I don’t have any justification to label or condemn anybody as bad. |
| The world should cater to my comfort and convenience. | Challenges are inevitable aspects of our life, and I have learned from them. Things must not go smoothly all the time. I appreciate all the trying and smooth experiences. |
| For things not to go the way I want is awful. | It is very rarely awful or catastrophic when things don’t go the way of my choosing. I can deal with the disappointment and inconvenience. |
| Avoiding problems rather than confronting and dealing with them are easier. | It may be easier to avoid problems in the short-term, but it will catch up with me in due course. It is wise for me to leave my comfort zone, confront my problems and try to solve them. |
| I cannot be happy when things are not going well. | It is possible to feel good even when some things are not going smoothly by learning think in a rational, empowering manner. |
| I can’t help but dwell on the possibility of something bad happening. | Dwelling on situations that I can’t control doesn’t change the outcome, and only makes me miserable. I’m ready to deal with problems if and when they arise. |
| Every problem has one solution and it’s a shame if I can’t find it. | Most problems do not lend themselves to one correct solution, but many feasible solutions. The available information determines how I make my decisions. |
To effectively challenge long-held and ingrained beliefs, it is necessary to identify and write down our disempowering cognitions or perceptions together with the rational statements that dispute them. Going through the rational statements, every now and then, helps to make them more believable to us.
Taking positive actions to invite in solutions to problems combine with modifying our cognitions to make us feel better. Challenging our catastrophic cognitions or perceptions helps us to minimise our nervousness and focus our energy on positive actions.
Excellent post! I love all the logical statements that refute the negative beliefs!
Great article! I love all the examples of the logical statements that refute the negative beliefs.
Thanks for coming.