Explore whether you subscribe to the fallacy of helplessness by completing the following lists. Describe two important (to you) communication-related difficulties you have for each of the following: communicating with family members, people at school or at work, strangers, and friends. Use the following format for each difficulty:

I can’t _________.

because _________.

Now read the list aloud to a classmate, but with a slight difference. For each “can’t,” substitute the word “won’t.”

Note which statements are actually “won’ts.” Tell your classmate if you feel differently about this statement when you change the wording.

Read the list to your classmate again, only this time substitute “I don’t know how to” for your original “can’t.”

Rewrite any statements that are truly “don’t know hows,”

and decide what you could do to learn the skill that you presently lack. Tell your classmate if you feel differently about this statement when you change the wording.

Based on your experience, decide whether you subscribe to the fallacy of helplessness, and what you could do to eliminate this sort of debilitative thinking.