THE TEN AXIOMS OF CHOICE THEORY

• The only person whose behaviour we can control is our own.


• All we can give or get from other people is information.


• All long-lasting psychological problems are relationship problems.


• The problem relationship is always part of our present lives.


• What happened in the past that was painful has a great deal to do with what we are today, but revisiting this painful past can contribute little or nothing to what we need to do now: improve an important, present relationship.


• We are driven by five genetic needs: survival, love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun.


• We can satisfy these needs only by satisfying a picture or pictures in our quality worlds.


• All we do from birth to death is behave. All behaviour is total behaviour and is made up of four inseparable components: acting, thinking, feeling, and physiology.


• All total behaviour is designated by verbs, usually infinitives and gerunds, and named by the component that is most recognisable.


• All total behaviour is chosen, but we have direct control over only the acting and thinking components.