Quote

You might think that shifting your thoughts is as easy as setting your mind to it. But stressful thoughts aren't held in place through choice or will power. They're held in place through perceived truth value.

Andrew Bernstein

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Andrew Bernstein
Age: 65
Born: 1959
Born: June 6
Author
Philosopher
University Teacher
Think
Choices
Shifting
Thinking
Values
Settings
Easy
Held
Place
Setting
Truth
Aren
Power
Choice
Might
Value
Stressful
Mind
Thoughts
Perceived

More quotes by Andrew Bernstein

Image
People often say that stress is a motivator. What we're referring to when we say this is really better described as stimulation and engagement.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
Even in this secular country, the threat posed by religious fundamentalists is never very far away. Every major religious text exhorts the same principles - that of unyielding obedience to a supernatural being, and renunciation of the intellect and personal aspirations.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
Some people are so used to experiencing stress that they don't remember what life was like without it.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
The reason humans experience so much more stress than other species isn't just because we think more, but also because we think differently.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
During the financial crisis, I worked with hundreds of executives who struggled as a result of their thoughts about job security. When their beliefs changed, so did their emotional experience - and they were then able to focus on the task at hand more effectively.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
When a friend is sick, I see the situation for what it is, not what it isn't, and I offer to help as much as she wants, not as much as I want.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
The number of stressors has multiplied exponentially: traffic, money, success, work/life balance, the economy, the environment, parenting, family conflict, relationships, disease. As the nature of human life has become far more complicated, our ancient stress response hasn't been able to keep up.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
The less you think counterfactually, the less you experience stress. Stress, in this light, isn't a bad thing. It's simply a warning system telling you that your mind has lost touch with what's real.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
Statism – the subordination of the individual to the state - leads inevitably to the most hideous oppression.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
We all enjoy pushing ourselves to accomplish our objectives. But we don't need stress to get there.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
Look closer at the stress in your own life and you can identify that negative emotions are always built on counterfactual statements.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
To believe that your husband, wife, parents, kids, boss, job, bank account, or body is even partly responsible for your emotions, to think that there are bullets 'out there' that you have to contend with, that there are stressful life events to overcome, is to miss something vital.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
People around the world now complain about stressors everyday, and the word shows up throughout professional and lay literature. But in reality there is no such thing as a stressor. Why not? Because nothing has the inherent power to provoke stress.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
Stress is never a given. There are people who get divorced amicably. There are people who pack up and move with no emotional toll. There is no stressor 'out there' in the world. We experience stress - or we don't - depending on what we believe.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
The hero is valorous because he stands up to every threat directed against his values. Heroism requires value conflict.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
Stress is a byproduct of subconscious beliefs you have about the world. You can't choose not to believe something. You believe it because you think it's true. To eliminate stress, you must learn to challenge these beliefs so that you see them differently.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
Many argue that Christianity is different from other religions - that it is primarily about love of one's fellow man. The Crusades, The Inquisition, Calvin's Geneva all prove that this is not the case. These events were pre-eminently about obedience to authority.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
Altruism demands that an individual serve others, but doesn’t stipulate whether those others should be one’s family, or the homeless, or society as a whole. Collectivism states that, in politics, society comes first and the individual must obey. Collectivism is the application of the altruist ethics to politics.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
The truth is that stress doesn't come from your boss, your kids, your spouse, traffic jams, health challenges, or other circumstances. It comes from your thoughts about these circumstances.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
Find the beliefs that are strangling your feelings, challenge them for your sake as well as theirs, and see how it feels to love someone without a thought about the future, simply for who they are today.
Andrew Bernstein