| The first is obsessive | | | | While analytical thinking is an excellent trait, if it's |
| negativity. When you are obsessively negative, it | | | | done in excess you never get to stop and smell |
| means that you have a tendency toward being | | | | the roses because you're too busy trying to |
| "negative" about people, places, situations, and | | | | analyze everything and everyone around you. |
| things in your life. | | | | Gaining insight into this type of behavior is one of |
| Perhaps you find yourself saying things like "I can't | | | | the most important keys to letting go of stress, |
| do this!" or "No one understands!" or "Nothing ever | | | | and getting complete power over your anxiety. |
| works!", for example. You may be doing this | | | | If you find yourself engaging in any of the above |
| unconsciously, but essentially you have what's | | | | "Blocking Behaviors", there are two things you can |
| known as a "sour grapes" attitude, and it holds | | | | do to help yourself. First, ask the people you |
| you back from knowing what it's like to view life | | | | know, love, and trust, "Am I negative about |
| from a positive lens and enjoy the beauty in | | | | things?", "Do I complain a lot?", and "Am I difficult |
| yourself and people around you! There's a whole | | | | to be around?" |
| world out there for you...with happiness and | | | | This may be hard for you to listen to, as the |
| positive thinking. | | | | truth sometimes hurts a great deal. But the insight |
| Then you have obsessive | | | | you will get from others' assessment of you is |
| perfectionism. When you engage in obsessive | | | | invaluable, and you'll know precisely how others |
| perfectionism, you are centered on trying to do | | | | see you. Accept their comments as helpful info, |
| everything "just so" to the point of driving | | | | and know that you will gain amazing insights from |
| yourself into an anxious state of being. You may | | | | what you hear. |
| find yourself making statements such as, "I have | | | | Second, keep a journal to write down and |
| to do this right, or I'll be a failure!" or "If I am not | | | | establish patterns of when you are using "blocking |
| precise, people will be mad at me!" Again, this | | | | behaviors." Even if you are not thrilled with the |
| behavior may be totally under the threshold of | | | | idea of writing, you can make little entries into a |
| your awareness, but it interferes greatly with | | | | note book or journal each day. The great part is |
| your ability to enjoy things without feeling | | | | that you'll begin to see patterns in your behavior |
| "uptight" and "stressed." | | | | that reveal exactly what you're doing to prevent |
| Finally there is obsessive analysis. | | | | yourself from curing your anxiety. |
| When you are obsessed about analyzing things, | | | | We’ll give you some great stress |
| you find yourself wanting to re-hash a task or an | | | | busting techniques later in the book, but you need |
| issue over and over again. For instance, you might | | | | to recognize these blockages first so you can |
| find yourself making statements such as, "I need | | | | move into the “healing” stage and conquer |
| to look this over, study it, and know it inside and | | | | your stress and anxiety. |
| out...or else I can't relax!" or "If I relax and let | | | | Many people think that stress and |
| things go without looking them over repeatedly, | | | | anxiety are the same thing. This couldn’t be |
| things go wrong!" | | | | further from the truth! |