Page 63 - Tree of Happiness

If you confront your dragon, as in the example, it is possible that your “Dragon” will not want to be friends (or you may study and still not do well on the test). The important thing is that you confronted your dragon, not the outcome.
You studied appropriately, you tried to be friends in an appropriate manner. The Good Thinking effort is what is important and don’t let Stinky Thinking cause you to disregard how strong you were to confront your dragon. Don’t let yourself think, “I knew I could not pass that test and it was stupid of me to try.” Instead, tell yourself, “I tried as hard as I could and still failed. I will just have to try harder or maybe get a tutor.” That’s Good Thinking.
It should be apparent that this last exercise is a life long skill. Adults can use it each and every day. We teach this to children so that they can learn the skill with the small dragons of childhood. Adults may perceive your childhood fears as insignificant and that your dragons can be easily dismissed.
Adults compare your little dragons to their giant dragons and can’t understand your upset, “Oh you will just get over it.” But your dragons are proportionately as large as any of their adult dragons. The solution in dealing with your dragons may be less complicated but you always learn new skills by starting with the easier parts and progressing to the more difficult. Therefore, childhood is the time to start the process of, “Slaying the Dragon.”
Use your memory of this story and this exercise whenever you are faced with a “Dragon” and are unable to come up with a rational solution. As you become increasingly skilled, you will be able to do this more easily. Eventually, it will be so easy that you won’t be able to remember why you ever were afraid of those Dragons. As Cosmos Crow says, the whole idea is to take charge of your life. If you do that, the Tree of Happiness has served its purpose and you may never need to come here again.
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