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This is one of "22
virus definitions" (thought-mistakes that cause ineffectiveness
and unnecessary negative emotions).
 “When
I was driving to work today, the other drivers were all so aggressive,”
says Karen, who looks quite harassed.
When asked about details it turns out only
two drivers acted aggressive. Two drivers out of the hundreds
she shared the roads with. That’s one of the most typical
thought-mistakes, and you can see why it would make you feel
unnecessary negative emotions. Two out of hundreds of drivers
acting aggressively is really saying hundreds of people did not
act aggressively and that’s not really something to get
upset about.
But “everyone is so aggressive”
can easily be an upsetting thought.
When I first started writing, I would ask
Klassy to edit for me, and the most common thing she wanted to
change was my propensity for overstating my case. I was young
and I had never thought about that before. But she would often
scratch out a sentence like, “This method will work every
time,” and put in something like, “It works most of
the time.” And her revision was not only more true, but
it was more believable for that reason. I was merely overstating
my case and losing the credibility of the reader in the process.
It can be misleading in writing and it
can be misleading when you think it in your head. Exaggerated
thoughts makes you feel extra (inappropriate) emotions. Exaggerated
negative thoughts makes you feel exaggerated negative emotions.
As soon as you recognize one of your thoughts is an exaggeration,
your emotions calm down quickly.
This article is part of the series, Antivirus For Your Mind.
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