Do you ever think or say any of the things on this list? If you do these thoughts might be making trouble for you! They are Stinking Thinking thoughts and they do things like make you sad or angry, get you in trouble, and make you lose friends. Check this list and see if these Stinking Thinking tricks are taking over your thoughts.

• I am bad at everything
• I know what everyone is thinking about me
• Only bad things happen to me
• Everyone should know what I think and feel without me telling them
• No one means it when they say nice things
• Good things don’t count
• Bad things are always my fault
• I should never make mistakes

* Be especially careful of the words ALWAYS and NEVER. Most bad things don’t happen always and it’s not usually true to think that good things never happen. *

You must get help when bad things are true.

You don’t need to argue with the stories that your mind tells or prove them wrong…just begin to notice that your mind does indeed tell stories – some useful, others not; some are facts and some are not. Once you know that your mind’s stories are not all true or all helpful you will find it easier to let your thoughts float on by; you won’t get as stuck, bogged down by upsetting beliefs that may or may not even be true!