One version of it tricks us into thinking we absolutely know what’s going to happen in the future. This particular thought-trap comes in different forms. If you catch yourself thinking about something in “always” or “never” terms, ask yourself, is that true? Is there anytime in my history that presents evidence that that is not true? This thought-trap works by eliminating all memory and evidence for times when something did or did not happen. Try expanding your vision to find a quick release from this trap.Įver hear someone use the words “always” or “never” to describe a behavior or situation? “My friends never show up on time!” “People are always rude to me.” That’s overgeneralizing hard at work. This thought-trap thrives on removing your from the big picture. Think of it this way – it’s like focusing on the tree instead of the forest or the pain in your leg but missing all the other well-working parts of your body.
#Eight thoughts full
The thought zooms in on one thing and explodes it so that it takes up our full attention. Think of a magnifying glass and you’ll understand the thought-trap of magnification. (“I’m pleased that co-worker did something nice for me today.”) (“I got a new job.”) and try using language that invokes pride, accomplishment, and gratitude. The trick out of this trap is to simply accept what has happened without judgment. This thought-trap makes it very difficult to enjoy the highlights of your life. If you get a new job, your mind might dampen that positive experience by thinking: They probably couldn’t find anyone else. If someone does something nice for you, this thought-trap might instead produce the thought: They probably do that for everyone. This thought-trap works by dismissing positive experiences through negative self-talk. That opens up a lot of space in-between for you to locate what’s happening. A quick way to get out of this trap is to consider all and nothing as the two end points on either end of a spectrum. This thought-trap will quickly have you thinking that your whole week is a waste if you did not accomplish some of your tasks for the week. There is only good or bad black or white all or nothing. This thought-trap is a classic! Also known as black-and-white thinking, this thought-trap leads one to believe that there is no in-between. Holding yourself (or someone else) completely accountable for a situation does not allow for the full picture to unfold. This line of thinking completely discounts the work stress, lack of lunch, and stressful commute that your partner experienced during their day. For example, if your partner were to come home upset, this thought-trap might lead you to think: If I were a better partner, they would not feel upset when they came home. Your mind quickly puts full blame and another person or yourself for circumstances that were not within personal control. In the thought-trap of blame, accountability is placed in all the wrong places. Get out of this though-trap by taking into account the full picture. Was there room for improvement? SURE! Additionally, there were positive notes that you did receive. This might actually lead you to feel poorly about your presentation and behave as though you did everything wrong (you might even turn down the next opportunity to present). When your mental filter turns on, you might find yourself thinking ONLY about the negative reviews. Perhaps you have just made a presentation and in the feedback notes you receive 9 positive reviews and 2 negative. In this thought-trap, your mind tends to zoom in on negative aspects while ignoring the everything else. Try catching yourself when you might be engaged in labelling and see if you can create a more accepting, non-judgmental way of describing the situation and yourself. Suddenly, you find yourself thinking: I’m such an idiot! I’m a terrible employee! That’s a thought-trap! Rather than acknowledging that you (and everyone else in the world) makes mistakes sometimes, you’ve labelled yourself something negative. Maybe you are upset about a mistake that you made at work. This is a common thought-trap that involves attaching a label to yourself, someone else, or a behavior. Some common unhelpful thinking patterns are outlined below. The ability to identify when our minds are engaged in unhelpful thinking patterns can provide the key to unlocking the door to thought-traps. If you are not paying close attention, you may find yourself believing in particularly unhelpful thoughts and that can lead to negative changes in behavior and in mood. It can have a lot of fun creating thought patterns that can lead to increased emotional distress. The mind is fascinating, complex, complicated and, sometimes, a bit of a trickster.
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