Distorted Thinking That We All Do When We're Not At Our Best - "The Illusion of Control"

There are two ways you can distort your thinking about your sense of power and control. You can see yourself as a helpless victim or you can consider yourself to be omnipotent and responsible for everyone around you.

If you are a victim, you will feel stuck and that nothing you ever do will make a difference. Someone else is always responsible for your pain, your loss, your sorrow, your anger. They did it to you. You don't look for answers and solutions because you don't think they will work anyway so what's the use.

The opposite of this is feeling responsible for everything and everybody. You carry the world on your shoulders and everyone depends on you. You are responsible for everyone's happiness and if you mess up you cause them to feel lonely, rejected, lost or upset. Your job is to right all the wrongs and fill every need. Omnipotence has three parts: you are overly sensitive to the needs of others, you have an exaggerated belief in your power to take care of their needs and you believe that it is you and not them who is responsible for filling those needs.

What area of your life or what current or past situation may be causing you angst due to unfounded illusions of control? Where have you been a victim? Where have you taken on for others what they can do for themselves? What is another way to look at it?

Next Week: Distorted Thinking - The False Idea of Fairness