Learning emotional and behavioral control is very much in vogue. There is instruction in schools, in the workplace, and in the larger world of interpersonal relationships. In their book Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier, Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey describe steps to take to achieve emotional and behavioral management via metacognition. Metacognition is thinking about your thought processes.

The goal of their strategy is to alter cognitively the way you react to events and choose preferable outcomes for your emotional responses, especially negative emotions.

Their strategy is based on CBT and the goal of altering your thinking about your emotional responses and behaviors. They say this approach allows people to escape being governed by their feelings.

CBT, developed by psychiatrist Aaron Beck, dates back to 1976. It is a form of treatment that examines how people look at situations that create feelings leading to subsequent behaviors. It has a problem-oriented focus and is a popular treatment that targets automatic thinking. Beck (1976) says that CBT examines three cognitions: 1) core beliefs, 2) faulty assumptions, and 3) automatic negative thinking. The focus in treatment is on actions to take that alter your thinking about situations.

Brooks and Winfrey describe four steps in their metacognition concept:

1) Observe intense feelings as if happening to another person than you.

2) Write down your emotions, read later on, and list alternate ways you might respond.

3) Keep a list of happy memories along with unhappy ones.

4) Look for what you........

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