Think Again!

CHAPTER 12 Two Participation Pitfalls

When it comes to your participation in 3-D forging (demolish, detain, defend), the key is distinguishing lies from truth. In the process of discerning between the two, there are two pitfalls worthy of special attention: Awfulizing and Impulsiveness . Awfulizing Awfulizing occurs when you tell yourself, “If that thing actually happened, it would wipe me out. It would be horrible, awful, terrible; the end of the world.” It is taking potentially undesirable situations and blowing them out of proportion. 57 For example, consider a young person so burdened with fears that she can’t go out to find a job. She wants employment but says, “I’ve tried but I can’t. I hate interviews. They scare me.” When asked what scares her, she says, “They might look down on me and make me feel foolish. That would be terrible. It would be horrible.” The truth is, it would not really be the end of the world if someone viewed her as foolish. It would be unpleasant, but not the end of the world. She is awfulizing .

There are two problems with awfulizing. First, the dreaded circumstances may never occur, so there is wasted anxiety over

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