This is one of "22 virus definitions" (thought-mistakes that cause ineffectiveness and unnecessary negative emotions).

WHEN YOU are feeling down because of a setback, you will tend to make more mistakes in your thinking, which just makes you feel worse. Negative emotions can create a kind of tunnel vision where you focus on all the bad things and ignore the positives. For example, you make a proposal to four people in a row and every one of them turns you down. You feel bummed because you're thinking the idea is no good.

But last Wednesday four out of four said yes. When you feel demoralized by a setback, that is exactly the kind of facts you will dismiss or forget. Even if you remember it, you might dismiss it by thinking, "I got lucky that day."

People do this sort of thing all the time. When someone compliments you, what do you think? Many people will think, "They're just saying that to be nice." They dismissed something positive. It is entirely possible they WERE just trying to be nice. But it's also possible they mean it. You don't know. So why pick the negative one?

The FACT is, the person said something nice. The FACT is, it is possible they meant it. Never dismiss facts, especially when it makes you feel bad unnecessarily.

This article is part of the series, Antivirus For Your Mind.

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