All too often, we get caught up in patterns of unhelpful thinking and we don’t even realize it! We spin with worry and anxiety. Sometimes we only lose a few minutes to these thoughts, but, sadly, these unhelpful thoughts can steal hours or even days.
Take a look at the different types of unhelpful thinking listed here. Which one(s) do you tend to lose yourself in??
PREDICTING THE FUTURE: When we feel anxious it is common for us to spend much of our time thinking about the future and predicting what could go wrong as supposed to just letting things be. In the end, most of the predictions we’ve made don’t actually happen, and we’ve wasted time and energy being worried and upset about them.
MIND READING: This is when we assume that we know what other people are thinking (usually about us) without any real evidence to suggest it’s true. We can also make assumptions about why someone said something or behaved in a certain way and be quick to conclude that it’s to do with us.
CATASTROPHIZING: People commonly ‘catastrophize’ when they’re anxious. This is when we blow things completely out of proportion and view the situation as a catastrophe even though the problem is actually quite small.
FOCUSING ON THE NEGATIVES: When we’re anxious, we commonly develop ‘tunnel vision’ where we focus solely on the negative aspects of situations without considering the positive aspects. Sometimes the whole picture can be colored by a single negative detail.
OVER GENERALIZING: Based on one instance in the past or present, you make the assumption that all others will follow a similar pattern in the future. A sense of helplessness often accompanies such overgeneralizations.
IMAGINING THE WORST CASE SCENARIO: Where we make predictions that the worst-case scenario is going to happen despite the fact that we may have been successful in this area in the past.
Once you are able to identify which of these you tend to fall into, you can start to intentionally shift that mind chatter!
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“Carefully watch your thoughts, for they become your words. Manage and watch your words, for they will become your actions. Consider and judge your actions, for they have become your habits. Acknowledge and watch your habits, for they shall become your values. Understand and embrace your values, for they become your destiny.” – Mahatma Gandhi