An important first step to staying in control of your feelings is learning what sets you off. One way to do this is to keep track of where you are, what you’re doing and who else is around when you get upset.
You might become aware of simple things—like not getting a good night’s sleep or skipping a meal—that make it harder for you to control your feelings.
Sometimes it can require plenty of detective work to figure things out.
Self Monitoring
Most problem behaviors are habits, things that we do without thinking. For example, you might get chips and a soda every time you sit down to watch TV without giving it a second thought. In order to change the behavior, you need to watch or monitor yourself.
Now it’s time to Get S*M*A*R*T!
Stop and Think!
Monitor—Am I doing what I planned to do?
Appraise—How are other people reacting?
Reflect—Is this likely to turn out the way I want it to?
Try a Different Behavior—Try something else and see how it works.
S*M*A*R*T can work for any behavior you want to change.
Sometimes you might need to use the steps of