TURN AROUND TIP#2: "I'll Always Be a Failure"

THOUGHT:  "I'll always be a failure," "I'm going to flunk school and be homeless," "I'll never get a job," etc.
TURN AROUND BY:

1. Start by saying what outcome you're trying to avoid or are scared of.  (For example, I'm going to flunk school, I'll never get a job, I'll never get a girlfriend, etc.)  Then move on from there to what might happen if that outcome happens.  (For example, I will be stuck working in fast food for the rest of my life, I won't be able to afford to live, I'll be a virgin forever, etc.)  Then continue thinking of worse and worse things until you can't think of anything else...  After a while, you'll notice that what you're saying sounds kind of silly and irrational, and that is the goal of this exercise.  I don't mean to belittle your feelings, but most of the time people don't see a way out of a situation and their mind kind of goes crazy until they are practicallly convinced that the world is going to end or they'll die somehow anyways.  If you can realize that the world isn't going to end and you are not going to die anyways, then you will be better able to find other ways to solve the issue you have at hand or at least live through it.

2. This one is just kind of a short essay to put things into perspective.  There are millions of homeless people in the U.S.  A lot are unable to get jobs, live in filth, don't have health care, are lucky to get three square meals a day and are constantly being humiliated.  One might assume that these people have nothing to live for.  Once again, I'm not meaning to belittle your feelings, but these people are PROBABLY (but not necessarily) in a worse situation than you are, yet they are NOT trying to kill themselves.  Matter of fact, some are as happy as anybody else!  Why?  Because they are in a right mind-set.  No matter how much you are suffering, no matter how little you have to live for, you can always be happy with the right mind-set.  Also, no matter how much you mess up in life, there's always a way to bounce back.  Given, your goals might take more time to accomplish then you planned, they are still accomplishable:)  (If you believe they are not accomplishable, message me and I can probably think of a way for you to accomplish them!!  No joke.)