Dysfunctional Beliefs

Good Day, God

This morning, I caught myself in a dysfunctional belief. I had told myself “Just one game of solitaire!” Almost immediately, I found that I was just about to finish a second game! Sigh, in the past I might have just said, “Oh well . . . too late . . . I blew it!” And I would have continued on and on and on.

But this morning — because our beloved daughter, Sandy, and I have been discussing Self Respect and how to build it — I thought, NO! I am going to STOP.

As I thought about what had happened, it came to me that I had been missing a “Category”. The category of “I just caught myself in the act of breaking my word to myself.” That is a very special category. It changed the BE PERFECT or GIVE UP mindset. It gave me both an opportunity and permission to see what I was doing and chose to RESET. It gave me a PLACE to STAND in which I was permitted to STOP. Seeing it as a Category — helps me see its POWER. How had I missed this useful category?

Probably because I believed that once I had broken my word to myself — it was TOO LATE!

The belief that it can be TOO LATE is as Dysfunctional as the belief that I don’t matter, that NOTHING MATTERS. That was a negative belief I identified years ago. And the simple act of NAMING it as a belief really helped me. Thus my delight in finding this new Opportunity to Stop, category. I am hoping, God, that a better name for it will appear. But, just as it is — it really helps me!

In the story The Grey Cloud I attributed the dysfunctional belief that “I don’t matter” to a Negative Entity. It has become a joke to say “The Devil made me do it.” But I find the possible existence of negative forces to be profoundly useful. I do not use it as an excuse — but as an additional way of understanding what is happening in our world.

I am pretty sure that our current culture is awash with dysfunctional beliefs. Please, God, help me find more of them!

About a moment with god

Story teller,