Erroneous means mistaken and is not to be confused with erogenous zones, which are sexually sensitive locations on the body. Your Erroneous Zones is based on the belief that people can control their feelings.
Here’s a simple syllogism Dr. Wayne W. Dyer uses to illustrate this:
Major Premise: I can control my thoughts.
Minor Premise: My feelings come from my thoughts.
Conclusion: I can control my feelings.
Negative Emotions Like Guilt, Worry and Anger
Because many feelings such as guilt, worry and anger are negative and stressful, it’s in everyone’s best interest to manage them. Not only is guilt and worry negative, but also Dr. Wayne W. Dyer goes one further and declares them useless in Your Erroneous Zones (Funk and Wagnalls, 1976, ISBN: 0-308-10228-2) Guilt of course is based on thinking about past mistakes, while worry is focused on the future. Both of these negative emotions rob people of the ability to enjoy the present.
He also theorizes that people who beat themselves up with guilty feelings are more likely to repeat the same unwanted behavior. He doesn’t encourage people to become robots or sociopaths, but rather learn from their mistakes, move on and vow not to repeat them. There is a certain cycle that can develop from punishing the self for bad behavior because once the individual feels he/she has suffered enough, repeating the mistake is easier to justify.
Other Issues That Dr. W. Wayne Dyer Helps With in Your Erroneous Zones Include How To:
- Become free from the need for approval
- Eliminate procrastination
- Love the self
- Live spontaneously
- Avoid immobilizing anger
- Avoid complaining
- Break free from the past
- Eliminate dependency relationships
Perfectionism and Procrastination
"Exploring the Unknown" is a fun chapter in this self-help book that encourages people to take risks, try something new and live spontaneously. Perfectionism is paralyzing and is often the reason for over planning, procrastination and fear of failure. Parents can encourage their children to try new things and have fun rather than just to perform to win or compete. Individuals can also teach themselves to lighten up, open their minds and try new foods, books, cultures, games, locations and more.
At the end of Your Erroneous Zones there’s a “Portrait of a person who has eliminated all erroneous zones”. They’re independent, enthusiastic, spontaneous, creative and curious. They don’t complain, worry, blame or judge. They’re not afraid to fail, don’t need approval and they have no heroes. It might sound unrealistic, but Dr. Wayne Dyer makes it seem possible and teaches how to be happy and free of all erroneous zones.
Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
Dr. Wayne W. Dyer wrote Your Erroneous Zones over 30 years ago in 1976 but his philosophies and style hasn’t changed much. The great thing about his style is that it’s easy to understand and puts on no airs with fancy jargon. For this reason, his self-help books are accessible to more people because they’re more apt to read them all the way through without losing patience or becoming annoyed.
He has authored over 30 self-help books since then and some of them include: Pulling Your Own Strings , The Sky's the Limit and Your Sacred Self. They all encourage others to grow and eliminate their self-defeating behaviors.
Sandra Williams - Sandra's a book addict and writer from Ontario, Canada. Her interests include cooking, health and personal development, so many of her ...
