Maneuver Space Volume 2, Issue 8
If you served in the military no matter what branch of service you were in, you learned at some point the importance of having space to maneuver. Whether you were maneuvering pairs of boots, a tank, a ship, or a fighter jet, having adequate physical space was essential to executing maneuver smoothly and safely. Likewise, when we encounter challenges in life, our minds need maneuver space to mentally negotiate difficult moments. This series will highlight each month a different brief cognitive tool that you can use in your daily life to potentially create more maneuver space. Remember having maneuver space, or space to think, is a gift in life. Once you create it, use it to your advantage!
Suffer Less, Enjoy Life More
Stoic philosophy, arguably the ‘doctrine’ of classical era warriors, is well present in the modern ethos of the U.S. Military. Ethos, a Greek word meaning character, is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology. While doctrine and regulations provide structure and policy for how we fight and win our nations wars, ethos provides the why we fight. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), the pioneering cognitive behavioral therapy from modern psychology developed by Dr. Albert Ellis in the 1950s, has strong parallels to ethos and stoicism. This makes its concepts particularly friendly toward many service members and Veterans who often embrace and internalize their own ethos driven stoic values long after they wear the uniform. REBT embraces logical rational thinking, a champion of creating and maintaining mental maneuver space.
Adopting an Attitude of Unconditional Acceptance
One of the most profound concepts that Dr. Ellis embraced was the idea that external events and circumstances themselves do not create an emotional experience, but rather our perception of these events and of ourselves.[1]To further understand this concept, we need to first adopt unconditional acceptance. REBT asks first to embrace three values:
Unconditional Self-Acceptance (USA)
We should always accept ourselves, even our failings. Humans are not perfect; we make errors and are fallible. We should not damn ourselves or our entire being for our mistakes.
Unconditional Others Acceptance (UOA)
Just as we are fallible, all other humans on our planet also sometimes screw-up, make mistakes, and do stupid things. We should not damn and condemn them all perpetually for their wrongdoings.
Unconditional Life Acceptance (ULA)
When you see what is wrong, unjust, and immoral in life, whenever possible work as hard as you can to improve it. However, don’t conclude that life itself is hopeless and unchangeable. Optimism helps us see that things can improve.[2]
Differentiating Healthy vs. Unhealthy Negative Emotions
When we think in healthy rational ways, we create healthy emotions. These can sometimes also be negative in nature. These negative emotions however are not bad, they are simply unpleasant at times. However, when we think in unhealthy irrational ways, we create unhealthy negative emotions. These often are rigid and absolute. The following graphic helps visualize this concept:
When You Recognize You Are Disturbing Yourself
“Almost all humans have the goals of staying alive and being happy.”[4] The key to understanding and overcoming unhealthy negative emotions and disturbance lies in:
- Identifying your irrational beliefs and seeing how they cause and maintain unhappiness and disturbance.
- Disputing these irrational beliefs.
- Rethinking and deverbalizing beliefs into rational, self-helping, and life-enhancing forms.[5]
REBT uses the ABCDE Theory to clarify the connection between activating events and their consequences by identifying the beliefs involved and replacing the irrational ones with more rational ones. It disputes the irrational beliefs in order to emerge with a more effective new personal philosophy. When you notice that you are disturbing yourself, follow the process below in sequence:
Applying REBT in Daily Life
REBT’s strong focus at the rational over the irrational and its roots in ethos and stoic philosophy make it a strong model for servicemembers and Veterans. In the words of the stoic philosopher Epictetus, “It is not events that disturb people, it is their judgments concerning them.”[7] For some practicians of REBT, it becomes more than just a therapeutic approach, but a way of life. In this capacity, it can help us suffer less and enjoy life more and be a strong ally in creating and maintaining mental maneuver space.
About the Author: Mr. Bongioanni is a licensed mental health counselor who alsoworks for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He is also a senior leader in the U.S. Army Reserve. His professional interests include human behavior, applied psychology, and military cultural competence. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.
[1] Ellis, A. and Ellis, D. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, Second Edition. American Psychological Association, Washington, DC., 2019, 3.
[2] Ellis, A. and Ellis, D., 26-27.
[3] Adapted from: ‘Unhealthy Emotions Content & Characteristics’, REBT Doctor, Retrieved from: https://rebtdoctor.com/rebt-worksheets-handouts/, September 30th, 2024.
[4] Ellis, A. and Ellis, D., 3.
[5] Ellis, A. and Ellis, D., 24.
[6] Ellis, D. (2024, April 12). REBT Self Help Sheet. 2024 Mental Health Care Convention, Albany, NY.
[7] The Works of Epictetus. Consisting of His Discourses, in Four Books, The Enchiridion, and Fragments. A Translation from the Greek based on that of Elizabeth Carter, by Thomas Wentworth Higginson (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1865), Chapter 5.
As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.
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