Page 17 - Whispering Squirrels

COSMOS EXPLAINS THE WHISPERING SQUIRRELS
This story will help you learn that what you tell yourself about a situation determines how you feel (emotions) and how you act (behavior). These emotions and behaviors can be appropriate (correct) only if your thinking is correct (rational). It is your Stinky Thinking (not correct) that leads to the emotional and behavioral problems in your life.
Have you ever planned a trip to go fishing or a picnic only to discover that it is raining so badly that you can’t go as planned? Did you become angry or sad about the situation? Did you fuss or mope around the rest of the day? If you did, you are like most people.
We react in the same way over and over again. That is, when disappointed, we get angry or sad and fuss about how “unfair” it is that it rained or that we did not get the grade we wanted or did not make the team.
All of this is typical but not necessary. In fact, you can probably think of times you acted just like the characters in the story and got in trouble. If this continues into your adolescence and adult life, it can cause many problems from losing friends and jobs to drug abuse.
The lesson of this story is:
You Control How You Feel and How You Behave When You Control What You Think.
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