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In what ways were other people, chance, luck (good or bad), or
fate responsible for this event?
In what ways were you (your efforts, skills, abilities,
experience, appearance, etc. or lack thereof) responsible for
this event?
What percentage of the responsibility for this event was
attributable to you? _____%
Do this for several events, including both positive and negative
ones. You have almost always worked for positive events and against
depressing events. So, if you do not think you are truly responsible for
more than 50% of the pleasant events, reconsider your explanation of
those events and see if you aren't causing more positive things than
you thought. Factually based confidence in your self-control is a
powerful antidote to pessimism and helplessness (remember
depressed people underestimate their problem-solving ability).
Usually others or circumstances or just bad luck cause unpleasant
events (the exception to this general rule is when our passive-
dependency is the cause). So, if you see yourself as responsible for
negative events--over 50% of the time--go back and see if others and
chance aren't more responsible. If your passivity is the problem, see
chapter 8. Ideally, you will come to believe (accurately) that your
general, stable abilities and traits, e.g. intelligence, personality,
organizational, and communication skills, etc., cause good things to
happen and uncontrollable, temporary external factors that you are
not responsible for produce the downers. (You are correct if you are
thinking this fits better in level IV. See #29 below.)
Self-reinforcement
Self-depreciating people feel that giving themselves overt self-
rewards--going out for dinner--is being selfish, and they think giving
themselves covert self-rewards--"I really handled that well"--is
shameful bragging. These attitudes become barriers to using some of
the most powerful self-control tools, such as self-reinforcement and
self-praise (see method #16 in chapter 11). Rehm recommended
making a list of assets--true positive traits. Read it frequently and add
accomplishments to it. Make another list of possible rewards, as in
method #16 in chapter 11, and use them in self-help projects.
Depressed people need more good things in their lives.
Get active. Actually, research has shown that we do fewer fun
things when we feel low, but simply doing more pleasant activities is
no guaranteed cure-all (Biglan & Dow, 1981). Yet, actions do change
feelings. Increase your activity level, get out of bed (or your chair or
house), find interesting, fun things to do but, more importantly,
undertake profitable, beneficial activities that solve problems, improve
your situation or future, and replace sad thoughts. Start with easier
tasks, work up to harder ones. Reward your progress.
