HUMANS ARE
COMPLICATED
CREATURES.
For one thing, we’re the only species that appears to have free will — we’re not just ruled by our animal instincts alone.
But that’s not the only difference between humans and animals.
Animals can’t help but live true to their nature, which means protecting their own best interests as a species.
But humans? No way! That would be much too simple for us.
In my ten years as an addiction and recovery therapist, I know how resourceful humans can be at working against our own best interests.
And why do we do this?
Blame our emotions, which can trap us in a self-fulfilling prophecy of negative feelings… which lead to negative thoughts… which lead to self-sabotaging actions.
As emotional creatures, we’re all liable to get turned around by feeling crazy… sad… desperate… deprived… or hopeless.
But even those of us who aren’t ACTIVELY self-sabotagING can lose who we truly are — and become emotionally bankrupt as a result.
❤️🔥 You might be trying too hard to conform to other people’s standards and expectations — which represses your individuality.
❤️🔥 You might have resigned yourself to a relationship that makes you feel hurt or neglected — which does terrible things to your self-esteem.
❤️🔥 And you might be subscribing to the unfairly negative viewpoints of your family, friends, or mainstream media. Y’know… the ones that throw a big, wet blanket over your desire to experience good things in life.
Do any of these B.S. lines of “wisdom” sound familiar? 💩
❤️🔥 No couple has a great sex life after 40!
❤️🔥 It’s normal for your body to start falling apart in middle age!
❤️🔥 Everyone’s gotta give up their dreams and get real at some point!
But the terrible thing about entertaining negative attitudes or conversations like those is that they become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
WhEN we FIXATE ON OR COMPLAIN ABOUT WHAT WE don’t want to happen, IT becomes pretty much certain to happen.
As a psychotherapist, I know how strongly our beliefs can program us to act in ways that bring about the outcomes we believe in.
Chalk it up to yet another way we humans can get disconnected from who we really are, and work against our own best interests.
Especially, against our own capacity for happiness and fulfillment!
❤️🔥 So if you believe your lot in life is to suffer through an unpleasant work or home life…
❤️🔥 To be deprived of the dreams you really wanted, long ago…
❤️🔥 Or to stew in envy and resentment as you wonder how people who seem truly happy got so unfairly lucky…