Page 17 - Jeff the Monkey

Jeff does not want to look foolish and tells himself, “It would be just too awful if I try and fail, so I just won’t try.” Do you ever tell yourself something similar to that when you are asked to do something difficult? How do you feel when you just give up and quit? These negative emotions are caused by your thinking and you control your thinking.
Jeff failed to learn a basic life skill for monkeys, that of climbing.
He was not willing to accept that hard work and learning new and difficult things is part of life. He also failed to learn basic social skills such as cooperation and willingness not to be overly demanding.
He told himself that “Everything will be all right,” despite the obvious evidence of the wrongness of that thinking. The other members of the troop also failed to help Jeff by not providing enough encouragement and/or consequences for Jeff’s unacceptable behaviors. They did not help make sure that their friend understood how important it was for him to learn to climb.
Many irrational self-messages (Stinky Thinking) may start in childhood. If maintained to adolescence and adulthood they move from people saying, “He is difficult but he will outgrow it,” to “He just is not interested in school,” to “He just can’t hold a job or maintain a relationship.” There is no guarantee that the Stinky Thinking of childhood will necessarily go away or change just because you become older. This is why it is important to learn to change your Stinky Thinking as young as possible.
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