The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris

the statement “lying is bad” is a belief, whereas the statement “I want to be honest” is a value.

Emotional avoidance is generally a bad strategy because:

Many of your individual goals may require you to experience negative emotions in order to achieve the goals. If you decide to sacrifice those goals in the name of avoiding a negative emotion, you’re making a long-term sacrifice for a short-term gain.

The physical changes associated with emotion are accompanied by urges to take specific actions (called “action tendencies”). For instance, if you become angry, you might become more likely to respond aggressively to other people, even if the other people are well-intentioned.