Today let’s talk about thinking in absolutes.
Yes or no, black or white, with me or against me. Any of that sound familiar?
In my ‘30s I was a master at the black and white thinking, which was really about I’m right and you’re wrong. Either you agreed with me or I would have to make you a bad person to defend my position. I learned that watching my Dad be the one who was always right. We argued one time, and he just glared at me, but after he’d had a few drinks, it later led to a very painful and violent incident. As an adult, I wanted to be in that powerful position, so I thought in absolutes. As I have learned to respect the opinions of others, and live with statements like “we can agree to disagree,” I seem to get along better with other people.
Do you ever think in absolute terms and get rigid about it?
Photo Credit
“arg1” by Paul L Dineen @ flickr.com Creative Commons. Some rights reserved.
Dan L. Hays offers encouragement for adult children of alcoholics.
The podcasts of these episodes can be found at: Minute to Freedom
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