Twisted Thinking 1

A mind that lacks clarity, insight and wisdom into the true nature of things often produces twisted thinking. This leads to much dukkha or suffering.
Forms of twisted thinking include the following:

1. ALL-OR-NOTHING THINKING

You see things in black-or-white categories. If a situation falls short of being perfect, you see it as a total failure. When a young woman on a diet ate a spoonful of ice-cream, she told herself, "I've blown my diet completely."

2. OVER-GENERALIZATION

You see a single negative event as a never-ending pattern of defeat by using words as "always" or "never". When a driver noticed bird dung on the wingshield of his car, he said, "Just my luck! Birds are always crapping on my car!"

3. MENTAL FILTER

You pick out a single negative detail and dwell on it exclusively. You receive many positive comments about your work, but someone says something mildly critical. You become obsessed about his reaction for days and ignore all the positive feedback.

With Metta,

Bro. Oh Teik Bin