Gameboy. Looking around, he hoped he might find an old box, a rock, or, with luck, even a ladder,
but it was a tidy neighborhood and there was nothing he could use.
He had tried everything he could think to do. Not seeing any other options, he gave up and
started to walk away. At first he felt angry and disappointed thinking about how hungry he had be-
come from his efforts, how he really wanted that apple, and how crisp and juicy it would have been
for him to sink his teeth into its flesh. The more he thought like this—the more he thought about
what he had missed out on having—the more miserable and unhappy he became.
However, the boy of our story was a pretty smart guy, even if he couldn’t always get what he
wanted. He started to say to himself, This isn’t helpful. I don’t have the apple and I’m feeling miserable as
well. There’s nothing more I can do to get the apple—that is unchangeable—but we’re supposed to be able to
change our feelings. If that’s the case, what I can I do to feel better?
Perhaps if I think differently about the apple, I might feel differently,he continued, trying several ideas.
The apple didn’t really belong to me, so perhaps it was bad to take it. Maybe the apple wasn’t ripe and, if I had
eaten it, I might have a rotten bellyache by now.
As he began to think those thoughts he started to feel happier. He said out loud to himself, “I’m
glad I wasn’t able to reach it.” The more he thought that, the happier he felt, and the happier he felt,
the more he chose to go on thinking the thoughts that helped him feel happier.
STORY 56
THOUGHTS DETERMINE FEELINGSTherapeutic Characteristics
Problems Addressed
■ Loss of something special
■ Thoughts causing negative feelings
■ Lack of ownership of thoughts and feelingsResources Developed
■ Awareness of how thoughts influence feelings—negative and positive
■ Awareness that it isn’t the object but the way we think about it that makes the difference
■ Creation of positive thoughts for positive emotions
■ Taking responsibility for your thoughts and feelingsOutcomes Offered
■ Ownership of thoughts
■ Ownership of feelings
■ The knowledge that positive thinking can result in positive feelings
Katie was jumping rope on the lawn in front of her home. It was a nice day, the sun was shining
warmly, and she had all the time in the world to enjoy her jumping. She felt happy. Her thoughts
were focused on her jumping: how to match the spinning of the rope in her hands and the jumping
146 Healing Stories, Teaching Stories