I think of it this way: We are survival machines who evolved sensory-motor brains for the purpose of making ever better decisions about which moves will increa

I think of it this way: We are survival machines who evolved sensory-motor brains for the purpose of making ever better decisions about which moves will increase our ability to survive and thrive. Pain is a signal that our predictive model of the world is incorrect. We made a bad move. Our predictive model needs to be revised. Rumination is the way in which the brain seeks to discover a better predictive model. If instead of productively pondering we choose to think thoughts of powerlessness which disrupt the rumination process and bring forward momentum to a halt, we are subverting our forward momentum. We should strive to discipline our mind to feel intense aversion towards allowing such unskillful thoughts to form and harden into beliefs.