You Can Control Your Feelings!: 24 Guides to Emotional Well-Being

This is a book about rational ideas that provide new ways of looking at old problems, using the principles of Rational-Emotive Therapy (RET). RET is a philosophical, educational and therapeutic approach that emphasizes developing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that promote happiness and survival. This book presents a menu of 24 nourishing guides for a better understanding of and coping with common problems of living using Rational-emotive ideas. Some of the main ideas and finer points of rational thinking that make up the ingredients of this book are: 1. Recognizing that not all solutions are equal; 2. Not presuming change; 3. Disputing the theory If It Works, Use It; 4. Preferring direct methods; 5. Taking issue with the theory: The apple doesn't fall far from the tree; 6. Distinguishing self-confidence from performance confidence; 7. Viewing humans as unique rather than special; 8. Differentiating normal from healthy; 9. Vigorously avoiding comfort traps; 10. Distinguishing wants from needs; 11. Avoiding the self-rating game and personal report cards; 12. Seeing the therapist and client as scientists; 13. Putting less emphasis on past happenings generally and family-of-origin materials specifically; 14. Not presuming disturbance; 15. Distinguishing practical from emotional dependency; 16. Encouraging independence without making it sacred; 17. Arguing against the reverse golden rule; 18. Ripping up misery equations; 19. Pointing out that what you see isn't often what you get; 20. Finding value in assessing for problems that don't exist; 21. Emphasizing influence by inaction; 22. Identifying three things that can almost always be done; 23. Establishing the happiness check; 24. Prioritizing problem solving. Nutritional thinking provides an approach to life, not simply an approach to solving a particular problem. It's broad world view can be applied to any future concerns. Nutritional thinking keeps you emotionally healthy as you grow and develop from it.