50 Ways to Untwist Your Thinking Part 3

Self Esteem: Logic Based Technique

10. Socratic Method: Ask yourself several questions that will lead to the inconsistencies in your Negative Thoughts. For example, you might ask yourself, “When  I say that I’m a failure at life, do I mean that I fail some things some of the time, or all things all of the time?” If you say, “some things some of the time,” you can point out that this is true of all human beings. If you say, “all of the things all of the time,” you can point out that this isn’t true of anyone, since no one fails at everything.

11. Thinking in Shades of Gray: Instead of thinking about your problems in black and white categories, you evaluate them in shades of gray. When things don’t work out well as you’d hoped, you can think of the experience as a partial success or a learning opportunity. Pinpoint your specific errors instead of writing yourself off as a total failure.

12. Process Vs. Outcome: You evaluate your performance based on the process– the effort you put in — rather than the outcome. Your efforts are within your control, but the outcome is not.

Semantic Techniques

13. Semantic Method: Substitute language that is less colorful and emotionally loaded. Instead of thinking, “I shouldn’t have made that mistake,” you can tell yourself, “It would be preferable if I hadn’t made that mistake.” This method is especially helpful for should statements and labeling.

50 Ways to Untwist Your Thinking Part
50 Ways to Untwist Your Thinking Part 2
50 Ways to Untwist Your Thinking Part 3
50 Ways to Untwist Your Thinking Part 4
50 Ways to Untwist Your Thinking Part 5
50 Ways to Untwist Your Thinking Part 6
50 Ways to Untwist Your Thinking Part 7
50 Ways to Untwist Your Thinking Part 8
Self Esteem