Whenever my dog, Barney, comes into the house after having been for a ride in the car, he runs to the pen(围栏) we have set up for him by the back door. It’s not something we intentionally trained him to do. The habit came simply because my husband tended to put him in his pen whenever they came in. After doing it a few times, Barney just figures that’s what you do when you come inside after a car ride.
It’s the same with your thinking. You get into the habit of thinking a certain way and then you’ll rarely question it after that.
This is especially true when you were growing up. You developed habits that just made things easier for you. You probably didn’t even think about them. That’s just the way it was and that’s what you did. Just like Barney thinks he has to go into his pen, you do things automatically as well.
For example, when you were a kid, you may have been told not to “talk back” and to just keep quiet about things that were bothering you. These are habits that might have worked to keep you safe and out of trouble when you were young.
Now that you're grown up, you may be finding that these previous strategies are actually causing you problems. In a relationship, not communicating isn't going to work as your partner can’t read your mind. What works when you're a child may not work when you become an adult.
When you decide you need to change your thoughts, your brain may at first feel that it's not a safe thing to do. Lots of practice and years of experience says it’s not. Also, you don’t know to question the thought. It’s a truth for you. The trick is to look at your results and see if your thoughts are the cause. Be willing to question your thinking and ask yourself if there are thoughts that are hindering (妨碍) you. As you are now in a different phase of your life, different strategies may be needed.
小题1:As with the dog Barney, people _______.
A．think in a habitual way
B．enjoy having a car ride
C．usually behave in a friendly way
D．have a good memory小题2:According to the passage, as a kid, one tends to _________.
A．be afraid to make mistakes
B．have the experience of playing with a dog
C．learn much from adults like his/her parents
D．form a habit which can keep his/her out of trouble小题3:In the writer’s opinion, adults should _______.
A．not“talk back”
B．avoid causing any problem
C．change the habit which will bring troubles
D．value their habits formed in their childhood小题4:It can be concluded from the passage that ________.
A．the author’s husband must be good at training dogs
B．childhood is the best time for developing good habits
C．one can change his/her life by changing his/her thoughts
D．you should change all your childhood habits when you grow up
