***WORKABILITY***
Whether a thought helps you create a richer, meaningful and fuller life, and helps you be the person you want to be and do the things you want to do.
Don’t focus on whether a thought is right or wrong or good or bad, but whether it is workable. We don’t need to judge our #thoughts as dysfunctional or bad. We don’t need to debate whether the thought is true or false. Instead, we can ask compassionately, “Is this thought WORKING to give me the life I want?”
The heart of #Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is centered around whether a thought is workable. Even if the thought feels negative or distressing, if it moves you towards a valued direction and enhances your life, then there’s no need to change it. If the thought does NOT make your life rich, full, and meaningful, then you can consider alternatives that might work better. So next time you have a nagging thought that is dragging you down, ask yourself these questions: 1. Does holding on to this thought help you live the life you want?
2. If you let this thought push you around, does it help you be the person you want to be? 3. If you get caught up in this thought, does it help you do the things you want? If the answer to any of the questions above is YES, then the thought is workable. And there’s no need to change it. If the answer to any of the questions above is NO, then don’t hold tightly to the thought. Don’t become one with it. Remember that the thought can only control you if you give it that power. And make the next action you take one that enhances your life, even if that action is difficult and challenging. Are your thoughts workable today?