Just In! 89.8 % of Americans Working!

 (good news) + (bad news) = 360 View

The hard numbers just came in and they are not soft--it seems the unemployment rate is over ten per cent for the first in twenty-six years. This "soft" recovery is not too cushy for many Americans, but it does seem the tide is slowly turning...

However, things could be a great deal worse. The human instinct is to view bad news as "real" news but that is not an accurate world view.

One of our most common thinking errors is discounting the positive. Yes, unemployment is 10.2 per cent. However, employment is 89.8. When viewing the world in a realistic fashion, don't look at a half full glass or a half empty one either--use your mind to see both parts.

And keep plugging along dear friends...that is what we, as humans, do best.

Happy Friday!

Unemployment Numbers Are In!

90.2% of Americans have jobs! A great thought, but not what is focused on by most people.

Humans discount the positive, it is one of our primary thinking errors. I am not denying the 9.8 % who don't have jobs...but I don't think that is the entire story. When we use our intellect to have a 360 degree view of the world, a more nuanced picture of the world emerges.

Some don't have work and most do...let's hope that trend grows...

Have a great weekend!

(unemployment numbers) + (360 view) = 90.2% Employment

Over 90% of Americans Are Employed!

This just in...the unemployment rate is now 9.4 percent.

I just whipped out my handy Mac calculator and based on my computations that means 90.6 percent of Americans have jobs.

Taking the negative view only tells half the story my friends. Solely focusing on what we don't have is not being realistic, it's only seeing what we lack.

Is 90.6% employment the best news I have ever heard? No, I have seen higher numbers employed. But I have a long view. I know that these numbers have been better and they have been worse as well, quite a bit worse.

So take a long view and see the forest as well as the trees. Have a job? Be thankful. Don't have a job? Set a goal for yourself and start looking for the obstacles between what you want and what you have.

And hang in there...

Cognitive Behavioral Principle: Discounting the Positive

 (good news) + (bad news) = 360 View


Discounting the Positive is one of the most common problems humans face. In short, it is when a person fails to acknowledge successes and only looks at what she has not done.

For instance, I have a client (let's call her Mary) who, from all accounts would be considered a success. She is in a highly regarded field, one that many would love to be in. She works hard, gets raises, promotions, bonuses. On top of that Mary has an active dating life and many friends. And during the week she teaches an exercise class as she decided to become certified in her spare time. That is what I see.

What does Mary see? A failure. Because she has the desire to be a mother and she is not, she thinks she is a complete loser. All the accomplishments above don't matter to her--she only sees what she does not have.

Mary considers herself to be a realist and that is why she bashes herself over the head about motherhood. I see her as someone who is struggling with accepting reality. Reality is a mix of accomplishments, things tried and things left to do. Her reality is all about what she does not have.

So I am helping her to understand what discounting the positive does to her. And slowly, slowly she is beginning to see all 360 degrees as opposed to five or six.

Examine your life--what do you discount? Once you recognize what it is, ask yourself how that practice, the practice of ignoring the good aspects of your life keep you from changing what you want to change.

Want to ask David a question about Discounting the Positive?