“What do you base that on?”

That was a question gently asked by a psychotherapist/friend after a casual but simplistic and opinionated statement I made which: A) she knew far more about than I, and B) was true to her professional skill by asking a question rather than being confrontational. I mention that because I’m starting with a recognition of my over-simplification in this column. (Hey, try to get through a day without an over-simplification or a generalization).

In the early 1970s I wrote what I thought was an original position paper only to find out books and theories had been published a decade or so earlier by some highly respected professional people (Drs. Aaron Beck, Milton Erickson, and later Dr. William Glasser and others). By the time I wrote my “original” thoughts, this was being studied in graduate schools.

Their scholarly work was about behavioral therapy. While their approaches ranged from hypnosis to cognitive behavioral therapies, the common denominator was more about developing strategies to actually changing behavior rather than spending time understanding the deep mental roots of a negative thought pattern. Accepting that distorted thinking leads to distorted actions, they focused on changing today’s and tomorrow’s thoughts and therefore their actions, not on exploring why some people have them.

I’m not a scholar, but this is my Viewpoint column, so I’m going to present what I wrote about from my level. I think Why is often overrated. When I’m dealing with an issue requiring me to act, and if I am trying to understand why I’m in this position, theoretically so I can avoid being here again, I stop. And I refocus on what to do about it. Paying well-meaning attention to why is easy. Introspection is attractive, can be informative and requires nothing. What to actually do requires action which is rarely easy but far more likely to be meaningful.

When dealing with many aspects of our behavior the first step is to accept reality. While introspective insights may be helpful, there’s no proof they contribute to self-improvement. To inspire some controversy, I’ll take that a bit further: Freudian psychology delves into childhood, the unconscious, relationships with our parents and repressed fears as the causes of the negative thoughts contributing to unhealthy adult behaviors. There are zero credible studies showing these insights result in improved behavior. A shoplifter may now know why he or she shoplifts. That’s all. The problem is stealing. The reality is stealing needs to stop. Behavior change is essential.

I’m obviously not a psychologist/psychiatrist and not trying to be. On my level of this stuff, I’m talking about dealing with the everyday challenges and obstacles we all have. Playing around with theories of why I’m having to deal with it is at best helpful in a minor way but may be just another enabling avoidance crutch. Ah, but figuring out what to do about the issue is relevant, productive and beneficial because that includes the necessary behavioral action and therefore results in problem-solving, not just a theory.