Rules of Thinking, The

RULE 13

Don’t get over-distracted

‘Don’t dwell on it,’ people say when you’re going through tough times. The idea is that it’s bad enough as it is, without focusing your mind on it all the time. Better to distract yourself if thinking won’t change anything.

There’s a lot of sense in this. It’s hard to be positive and feel resilient when you’re wallowing in misery. A break from thinking about it, maybe some fresh air or just time with friends, is a sensible idea. You want to minimise the stress you’re going through, so it makes sense that any stress-reducing activity will help.

There is a ‘but’, though. Give yourself a break, yes, but don’t play hide and seek with your troubles. If you try to run away from them, you solve nothing right now ...