Changing Behavior/“I did it again”/The Two Nows
In this talk Bruce starts by responding to a question about “problem” behavior. He discusses that, in so far as behavior is caused by an unhappy belief, it will change when the belief changes. In so far as the behavior is not caused by an unhappy belief it won’t. Either way, the concern of the Option Method practitioner is unhappiness, not behavior.
He then discusses people’s concern that they will “backslide” and “do it again” after they have believed they didn’t need to be unhappy about something. He makes an analogy to, if you knew water was poisoned, there is no way you would drink it again. If your belief has changed, and you are still unhappy, you are unhappy for another reason than before.
Finally, he discusses the two “Nows”. Unhappy people are concerned with how they have been unhappy up ’til now. Happy people are only concerned with enjoying happiness from now on. The past has no sway over the present.
Option Method – Changing Behavior