Are unhelpful thinking styles holding you back?

Does it feel like the world is against you, everything always goes wrong or good things don't happen to you? Are you exhausted from fighting all the time and wish life would give you a break? Well, it could be how you are filtering life, which is causing it to be so rubbish for you.

We all have these filters. I call them thinking styles. The way we think creates the way we talk and behave, but it also creates the way in which we interpret things too. 

If you have been told to "stop thinking negatively", I know it is much easier said than done, so let's take that pressure off right now. I'm not saying think positively; I'm saying let's address your thinking styles and see if there are some tweaks we can make to create a happy life for you.

What are thinking styles

Thinking styles are also called cognitive distortions, and they are the main reason some people are generally positive and the glass half full, and some are more negative and pessimistic. We tend to learn our thinking styles from those we are around most, so our parents or main carer will generally pass their thoughts down to us. They also pass on their beliefs, morals, and values. We then filter the world through these and behave accordingly.

Here are 3 thinking styles to check on

• Catastrophising - blowing things up or dramatising them
• Focusing on the negative - only taking into account the negative and ignoring everything else.
• Perfectionism - trying to make everything perfect and feeling uncomfortable or unsatisfied when it's not. Never being able to achieve the standard you want

So why not try these small steps to get started in moving away from negative thinking:

☑️Identify the thinking styles that you have
☑️Pick one at a time
☑️Research it on YouTube (easy to listen to while doing something else)
☑️Actively look to change that one thinking style
☑️Once you have broken that habit, move on to the next
☑️You will find you are naturally more and more positive, and life feels easier.

Drop me a line or book a free call to discuss this further.