QUOTE : Richter had long ago learned that the first step in dealing with negative emotions was to accept that they were part of you. A basic mistake that people made over and over was to try and deny the worst parts of themselves. ‘I’m not angry, jealous, vindictive, petty, etc.’ Though it was only natural to shy from difficult truths, denial did not give you control over yourself. It merely ignored a part of what you were. That was actually the complete absence of control.