This 'rule of 12' will help you stay calm when things go wrong
If you find yourself frequently getting frustrated or riled up when things go wrong – whether it be missing a train or a coffee spillage – a top psychologist has shared a handy hack to help.
Dr Daniel Amen, from the US, has revealed a helpful trick for when things don’t go to plan during an event, like going on holiday or moving house, to help you develop a healthier mental state.
The trick in question is to remember the ‘rule of 12’ to cope when difficult things happen.
This means when 12 things go wrong, trying to only express anger after the 13th event – with the idea being that you save yourself the exhaustion of constant frustration.
Dr Daniel says he practices this rule every day and encourages his patients to do the same, so they can ‘roll with’ the difficult things that happen throughout life and stay ‘psychologically healthy’ and ‘mentally strong’.
In a video, he says: ‘I want to talk about the rule of 12, it is something I teach all of my patients and it really honours the fact that s*** happens, you just have to be okay with it.’
Replying to @IHateThatGuy The rule of 12 (explained) – how will you practice it today?
Dr Daniel says he came with up the idea a few years ago, when he went on holiday with his family to celebrate his wife’s 50th birthday.
‘I thought: “12 things are going to go wrong and I’m not going to get angry, scream, yell or become a jerk until the 13th thing goes wrong,”‘ the doctor explained.
‘An indeed six things went wrong, but I didn’t get upset at all.’
Now, he practices this rule every day by keeping a list of all the bad things that happen on his phone.
And it’s safe to say that people online have praised this approach.
‘I like this. My tolerance to adversity is pretty low,’ one person replied.
‘I do this travelling. I know I’ll always forget one thing, so I just accept it as part of the trip,’ another commented.
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