Page 24 - Tree of Happiness

The “I will never be able to do well in school” mindset can generalize to college, your job and even to a promotion. Irrational beliefs do not go away just because you become older. Instead, they become even broader in influence and stronger in resisting change. A belief that caused you to make poor grades will now make it difficult for you to make a living, to support a family and to avoid the temptations of drug abuse.
It is important to understand that we do not just outgrow these core irrational beliefs. They must be challenged and changed and this requires much effort. If we don’t change them, the discomfort they cause will lead us into dysfunctional (bad) coping methods such as drugs and alcohol, which in turn will cause more life problems.
The Queen happened upon an Elf as she ran through the woods crying. She told the Elf all about her troubles. After telling her story, she asked the Elf about the tree with the door in it. He told her that it was the “Tree of Happiness” and once inside she would be happy. The Queen asked, begged and finally threatened the Elf, in order to get the key to open the door to the “Tree.” However, the Elf continued in his refusal to give the key to the Queen.
Many people have the mistaken belief that their happiness is dependent on others or things. They will ask, beg and threaten so that they can get into their personal “Tree of Happiness .” This is a very common and typically human behavior.
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