Blog: Self-Help Posts on REBT

Unconditional Other-Acceptance: What is it, and why practice it?

In Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), we encourage unconditional other-acceptance. It is a form of acceptance you apply to friends, family, colleagues, and everyone else you encounter. When you unconditionally accept others, you distinguish between the other individual and the parts of that individual you like, dislike, and evaluate as neutral. You restrict your judgment … Read more

Your Past Does Not Have to Determine Your Future

Albert Ellis, the originator of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, argued that believing in the unchangeable influence of the past is invalid and self-defeating. Human behavior is highly unpredictable. Just because a person reacts in some circumstances one way does not necessarily predict they will respond in that same way under all conditions forever more. Yes, … Read more

Is My Reaction Healthy or Unhealthy? If Not, It is Time to Do Self-Therapy

When you are having a negative emotional or behavioral response to a negative state of affairs, stop and ask yourself:  Am I reacting to this negative state of affairs with a healthy or unhealthy emotional and behavioral response?  What are my many different goals in this situation, and is my response undermining my chances of obtaining them?  … Read more

How to Accept What You Cannot Change

In Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, we encourage you to live your life to enjoy yourself. Albert Ellis, the originator of REBT, encouraged people to assume this was the only life they would likely have and to live it to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. He pointed out that humans are naturally inclined to have goals … Read more

April 17th, 2023

Let us be honest life is challenging and, at times, downright hard. Frustration, disappointment, loss, burdens, betrayal, incompetency, and complexity abound. In response, you experience emotions, feelings, and behavioral reactions. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is a philosophy for managing your responses to get more of what you want and less of what you don’t … Read more

Emotional Well-Being is a Never Ending Struggle

Whether we acknowledge it or not and cultivate and exploit the capability, humans can choose their emotions. You can think about your thinking, observe your internal emotional experiences, and work through your unhealthy negative feelings. However, you cannot achieve a never-ending state of emotional well-being. In Rational Emotional Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), we hold a … Read more

Changing Others is Like Trying to Change the Weather – Change How You React to Them with REBT

In REBT, we encourage people to eliminate self-created emotional upset by cultivating self-acceptance and other acceptance. We promote unconditional acceptance of all humans while critically evaluating the deeds which they carry out. The goal is to judge what people do but never to overgeneralize and rate the total person. Directing judgment this way helps us … Read more

REBT Teaches Sensible Ideas, A Self-Correction Process, and Calculated Risk-Taking

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) attempts to do several things. It teaches you sensible and self-helping ideas and attitudes. It also hopes you learn a process that enables you to transition from self-defeating emotional-behavioral states into self-helping states as needed. It aims to show you how to skillfully change what you can and live with … Read more

Transcending Loss and Failure with REBT

The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, Jalen Hurts, responded graciously to a reporter’s inquiry following his team’s heartbreaking loss, despite his extraordinary performance in Superbowl LVII. Hurts said, “The beautiful part about it is everyone experiences different pains, everyone experiences different agonies of life. You decide if you want to learn from it. You decide if you want … Read more

Living Well and Dying Well with REBT

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. – Steve Jobs Sadly, you will die. Although dying has a downside, as Steve Jobs recommends, you can use your limited time and death to your advantage. The fact that you will … Read more