EP 26 - The Law of Substitution

You can’t just dismiss a negative thought. If something’s bothering you, it will keep gnawing away at you until you replace it with another thought. This is a psychological principle known as the “Law of Substitution”.

TRANSCRIPT

The Law of Substitution

You can’t just dismiss a negative thought. If something’s bothering you, it will keep gnawing away at you until you replace it with another thought. This is a psychological principle known as the “Law of Substitution”.

Self-help experts tell you to think positive, and replace negative thoughts with positive thinking, but for most people that doesn’t work!

For it to stick, the thought you’re trying to substitute has to be believable. And overly positive, wishful thinking takes a huge leap of faith

that most people don’t have!

So you want to replace a negative thought with a “rational thought” because rational thoughts are easier to accept and much more productive.

Negative thoughts are assumptions and conclusions

that are very subjective.

We think we can read people’s minds and see into the future but we can’t!

Negative thoughts are emotional, and rational thoughts are logical. But emotional thoughts are produced much faster than rational thoughts, so you’ve got to be patient.

Rational thoughts are objective. They’re factual, logical and non-emotional.

They don’t lean negative or lean positive. They’re neutral!

And when you replace a negative thought with a rational thought you can build on that rational thought with this simple question -

“what is my best course forward?”

if you base that question on a negative thought, you will head in a negative direction. But when you base the question on rational thoughts, your behaviors head in a more productive AND positive direction.

So don’t live with your negative thoughts; and don’t chase positive thinking!

Replace the negativity with rational and neutral thinking.