RE: Choose your attitude??

[Guest guest]

What a great metaphor!

/Maja

To: ACT_for_the_Public From: emdm154@...Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:40:14 -0700Subject: Re: Choose your attitude??

I had the funny thought today, "what if someone thought they were compelled to respond to every bit of SPAM that hit their mailbox?" (I get a ton on this particular address.) Which led to "What if someone thought they had to pull in and eat something at every fast food place on every strip of road?" A helpful metaphor for me. Just because there's a vending machine in my building at work doesn't mean I have to buy something. In fact, I don't think I've ever bought anything from our vending machine. I've just . . . noticed that it is there. Just because there are infomercials doesn't mean I have to call in and buy a Snuggie!

From: <stevenchayesgmail>To: ACT_for_the_Public Sent: Mon, March 22, 2010 11:29:48 PMSubject: Re: Choose your attitude??

You can chose what to act on.You can choose what to hold dear.In a sense you can choose what to buy intoYou can choose defusion /acceptance / values (etc)You can choose what to put life's moments towardsYou can't fully choose the content of what you feel, think, remember, or sense.So it depends on what you mean by an "attitude" had a little ________Blonds have more ________The worst thing about gay people is that they are ________Fat people are ___________What shows up is historical. I can easily show you that you are filledwith horrific associations (biased, prejudiced, hateful) that are historical.For example: almost all of the people on this list could sort "good at math" with "" more quickly and with greater accuracy than if you had to sort itwith "Regina." Is that sexist? Well, duh. Sure it is sexist. But it is in virtually all of us,males and females. History.In a way that is an "attitude"But the far more important parts of "attitude" (IMHO)are the part you DO choose.You can chose what to act on.You can choose what to hold dear.In a sense you can choose what to buy intoYou can choose defusion /acceptance / values (etc)You can choose what to put life's moments towards- S C. Foundation ProfessorDepartment of Psychology /298University of NevadaReno, NV 89557-0062hayes@... or stevenchayes@ gmail.comFax: Psych Department: Home (use sparingly): Cell (even more so): Contextual Change (you can use this number for messages if need be): If you want my vita, publications, PowerPoint slides, try my training page or my blog at the ACBS site: http://www.contextu alpsychology. org/steven_ hayes http://www.contextu alpsychology. org/blog/ steven_hayes or you can try my website (not really quite functional yet) stevenchayes. comIf you have any questions about ACT or RFT (articles, AAQ information etc), please first check the vast resources at www.contextualpsych ology.orgIf you are a professional or student and want to be part of the world wide ACT discussion or RFT discussions go to http://health. groups.yahoo. com/group/ acceptanceandcom mitmenttherapy/ joinorhttp://health. groups.yahoo. com/group/ relationalframet heory/joinIf you are a member of the public reading ACT self-help books (e.g., "Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life" etc) and want to be part of the conversation go to: http://health. groups.yahoo. com/group/ ACT_for_the_ Public/join

On Mon, Mar 22, 2010 at 8:12 PM, Birgit <birgitwerner68@ yahoo.com. au> wrote:

Hello all,I just wanted to ask you how and whether 'choose your attitude' fits in with the ACT principals.I guess attitude towards work or anything in particular can be pretty negative but if the behaviour in a situation is based on values than shouldn't that change the attitude??I mean a negative attitude is a negative feeling towards something. For me anyway. If I then decide that I don't like the job or the situation but I have certain values attached to it, should that then mean my behaviour should be in accordance with my values? That basically would mean that my attitude is bad, because I don't want to be where I am but I have to 'pull myself together' and behave in accordance with my values of being a nice person...This means I have to ignore the bad feelings I have in that situation, namely work.So, in order to behave appropriately I need to ignore how much I dislike what I'm doing. If that's the case then I'm not doing it very well. I hate having to pull myself together and be nice and friendly when I really don't care...Oh geez, I don't know whether this makes sense.Long story short: Can people 'choose' their attitude (Oh man, I hate that saying, makes me feel instantly guilty)