As a former athlete, I wish I had known about REBT when competing in high school and college varsity sports. Had I been skilled in the use of REBT, I would have suffered less emotional pain, performed at an even higher level, and experienced greater enjoyment during the many hours I spent in athletic training … Read more

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy aims to enhance a person’s ability to adapt to and learn from adversity. I have found that cultivating the capacity to take the good from the bad exemplifies adaptation and is essential to making the most of life. In life, bad things will happen. We will perform poorly, suffer losses and … Read more

Emotional pain is an inevitable part of life, but REBT can effectively treat self-defeating emotional disturbance. Strive to adopt the profound philosophical idea of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT): no matter how much you desire something or how important it is to you, you never absolutely have to get your wishes fulfilled. When you understand … Read more

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy teaches you to identify the rigid and extreme attitudes that underpin your unhealthy emotional disturbance in the face of adversity. For example, let us assume you disturb yourself because you hold the attitude: “Because this is an important matter in my life, therefore I have to do perfectly well.” Some people wrongly … Read more

People often tell you to accept what you cannot change. In doing so, others prescribe acceptance and assume you can heed their wisdom, concluding that this is the process. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) can teach acceptance as a life skill necessary for coping with life’s most significant challenges and losses. However, although people may … Read more

Most people will agree that patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue because life works out on its schedule, not ours. Good things take time and effort to come to fruition. Human nature finds it challenging to display patience while exerting effort until all the conditions for a favored outcome occur. Adding to the … Read more

REBT is a relatively straightforward model for analyzing and remedying self-defeating emotional and behavioral responses to adversity. People quickly learn the language of REBT, which is a strength, but it can also hinder the effective implementation of this powerful system of ideas. People often say REBT teaches that there are healthy negative emotions and will … Read more

I listened to a thought-provoking podcast about solitude while walking to my office on a cold Saturday morning at 6:45 AM. Increasing solitude has become a common aspect of people’s lives. Americans have reduced face-to-face socializing by 20%. (This trend may also apply outside the United States, but I cannot say for sure.) We are voluntarily increasing our isolation, … Read more

Three self-defeating ideas Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy works to disabuse people of are: I must not be frustrated as I pursue my strongest desires. I must do everything perfectly well. Everyone must approve of me.   REBT can help you live a purposeful life and enjoy the satisfaction of achieving your goals and dreams. Albert … Read more

I recently went on safari to Africa and observed a great deal of animal behavior. I wanted to learn something from the trip that would make me wiser. Here is what I took away that reinforced what I more or less already knew. Facing ongoing adversity is the natural condition of all living organisms from … Read more