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Everyone has their own perceptions of reality. These perceptions will be influenced by experiences that we have had in the past, and the patterning that our minds have developed in response to those experiences. There are a number of common biases that people run that will affect their perspective on reality.
Without awareness, people may feel that their experience of reality is the same as everyone else and then wonder why people don’t respond to situations in the way that they were expecting, often fueling frustration, hurt and sometimes anger. When we have an understanding that everyone has a different perspective on reality, it can help us to question the validity of our thinking when it is heading to an unhelpful place. Some common thought biases that can occur are as follows:
Mind Reading – Making assumptions about what others are thinking and feeling e.g. “She hasn’t responded to my message because she is annoyed with me”.
Overgeneralisation - Taking one event and using to generalise about other things. E.g. “I got sacked, I will never getter another job”
Self-Referencing – Assuming that others have the same values and perspective as we have and judging their behaviour through that lens e.g.. “I would never be late like that. He obviously doesn’t care enough about me”.
Emotional reasoning – I feel it therefore it must be true e.g. “I feel guilty therefore I am a bad parent”.
Musts and should – Relentless and unrealistic expectations that set us up to feel like a failure everyday “I must make homemade treats for my children otherwise people will judge me as being a bad parent”.
All or nothing thinking – Thinking in absolutes or extremes. “I must get 100% otherwise everyone will think I am a failure”.
The thoughts we spend time with affect how we feel, how we feel affects our thoughts. When we are exercising these types of Thought Bias, our minds are unnecessarily fueling a series of negative feelings and thought loops. Without checking the validity of these thoughts, we have no way of knowing whether they are actually true. Once we have awareness of this type of looped thinking, we have a choice in our we respond to it. It starts by asking 3 questions:
Is the thought valid?
If it is valid, is there external evidence to support it?
Is this the most helpful way to respond to the situation
If we can interrupt the thought cycle at this point, we can prevent the feelings that can accompany the negative thought patterns, and then stop ourselves from going into a low mood.
This is easier said than done though. When we have run these thought patterns and beliefs for a sustained period of time, it is very difficult to interrupt the subconscious automated response.
The techniques used by Minds of Distinction are ideally suited for drawing attention to these Thought Biases and creating a lasting pattern interruption initially via awareness of the bias, and then identifying how the thoughts are triggered, and interrupting those triggers and subconscious responses through a combination of leading-edge psychotherapy techniques.
At Minds of Distinction we want to see you Think Better, Do Better, Live Better as quickly as possible. Call us today to see how we can help you to get you create the future you want to live.
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