Page 27 - Too Smart Dog

This is an example of how your fear (caused by your “Stinky Thinking”) can cause you to do something that is not in your best self-interest.
Anger is an emotion that frequently causes us to do things
that are not in our best self-interest. You may have heard adults talk about how they “did this or did that” to “get back at them.” Adults can always make it seem like they are perfectly correct in what they did, when in reality, it was not in their best self-interest. They can do this because they have had a lot of practice justifying their “Stinky Thinking.”
Let’s use an example that might apply to you. You study for a test but make a poor grade. You tell yourself, ”That teacher just tries to make this test hard. She deliberately picks the exact things I did not study and asks them on the test. If that is how she is going to do, I just won’t study, that will show her.” You let your anger, the result of your “Stinky Thinking,” dictate how you will act. In this case, not study for the next test. Now really, is that in your best self-interest?
What would “Too Smart” tell himself in a similar situation?
“I made a big mistake. I only studied what I found interesting and the teacher asked questions about everything. It was foolish of me to think she would only ask about the things that interested me. Next time I will study all of the material.”
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