How to Free Yourself from Dysfunctional Attitudes

“Attitudes are sets of feelings and beliefs that both influence and justify behavior. Although specific feelings or beliefs that are part of an attitude may be expressed, the attitude itself is usually unarticulated. Embedded in attitudes are autopilot assumptions and judgments that are laden with biases, as expressed in Daniel Kahneman’s famous quote, which he based on decades of research: “We think that we make our decisions because we have good reasons to make them, even when it’s the other way around. We believe in the reasons because we’ve already made the decision.”

In the clinical experience of the author, clients are motivated to change dysfunctional attitudes only when they reach a tipping point of frustration and exhaustion. Then, we can work on unpacking the autopilot judgments and conditioning new ones. Below are examples of unpacking and reconditioning.

• Thought: Nothing works right. Practice using the things that work okay as models for improvement.
• Thought: People are either incompetent or inefficient. Understand that when people behave with competence and efficiency, they don't feel devalued or criticized. In general, we’re all more cooperative when we feel valued.
• Thought: They don’t care enough or aren’t smart enough to get it right. Consider whether this attitude results from inflexibility. Recognize that, besides keeping you in a continual devalued state, the attitude evokes negative responses from others, making them less likely to care about you or behave the way you want. Practice rewarding cooperation rather than punishing behavior you don't want.”

Read the whole article at Psychology Today

#Attitudes #Beliefs #Reconditioning

💬 What is one dysfunctional attitude that you hold?

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