Identify and Break Free From Your Thinking Traps

In this article you will learn the following

-36 Types of thinking traps

-39 Tips HOW TO GET OUT OF Your Thinking Trap

How to recognize and avoid your thinking traps

Thinking Trap can be described as a phase - when we get stuck in exaggerated or irrational negative thought patterns that can lead us to believe things that may not have anything to do with facts.

Fortunately or unfortunately - Life rarely happens in a linear, structured and predictable manner.

And now it is getting even more complicated, complex, and ambiguous because of the disruptive changes - which are happening faster than our brains can be acclimatized.

Our past experiences, skills and knowledge are not enough to help us deal with new situations which does not have any precedence.

As a result, the levels of stress for almost every individual have also increased to unprecedented levels.

Kids from the very initial school admission days – start experiencing stress – at least in India.

Stress happens - when you find – you are unable to deal with or respond to the situations or feel troubled by and threatened by life’s changes.

High stress creates physical signs and symptoms and triggers most unpleasant feelings – along with many symptoms of illness or sickness – you may notice pain in many parts of your body.

Stress may also make you feel - angry, sad, unable to concentrate or focus, feel tired, guilty, ashamed, and restless.

All of us may go through phases that may make us depressed and put us in un-resourceful mental, physical and emotional states.

But the real problem starts - when you get trapped and hooked with negative thoughts of your own making.

There are many kinds of difficult thoughts and feelings that can hook us when nothing is going right and life is falling apart – like - Thoughts about giving up or Thoughts that blame others or when you make Harsh judgments about yourself or Thoughts about future difficult events that you are scared about

As a result of these disempowering emotional states - You might get into fights, and arguments OR may even withdraw from people you love or may start using drugs, alcohol or smoke.

Negative thoughts and feelings can trap you when they are progressively increasing without you being aware of them.

Many of us are not kind to ourselves when we are in difficult situations -When you get hooked by these unkind thoughts about yourself – you get pulled away from your values.

The solution lies – in getting yourself grounded in reality, giving space for things that can’t be changed and engaging with the world around you in a meaningful, empowering and healthy manner.

36 Types of thinking traps

1.?? Grand illusion of being an expert in everything – which makes you overconfident in your abilities without sufficient evidence

2.?? What if thinking – you start imagining all things that can go wrong without any reasons

3.?? OVERTHINKING – you keep reflecting and hearing and seeing what someone said or did OR you did or did not do

4.?? Tunnel vision?- when you focus on just one thing [which would be the most negative and at times insignificant one] and ignore powerfully positive ones

5.?? Selective memory – you are only able to recall what is comfortable to you

6.?? Convenient thinking – you are focused on only your gratifications

7.?? Short-term thinking – when you become a major in minor insignificant goals

8. Giving in to your impulses with very poor self-control

9.?? Taking everything others said personally – although they might not be referring to you OR may be meant completely different than what you have assumed or taking things personally when they aren't actually connected to you

10.?????????????? Personalization - Blaming yourself for events beyond your control or for everything that is going wrong even in another’s life

11.?????????????? Filtering - Focusing on the negative details of a situation while ignoring the positive.

12. All-or-nothing thinking -Only seeing the extremes of a situation.

13.?????????????? Jumping to Conclusions -Judging or deciding something without all the facts.

14.?????????????? Believing that whatever you feel and think is the truth

15.?????????????? Attributing the Positive to being temporary or you having good times only because of pure luck

16.?????????????? Picking data to suit and fit your beliefs -confirmation bias -the tendency to seek out or interpret information to support what we already believe

17.?????????????? Getting in the trap of Musts and Shoulds – like – this must be done or that you should have done that

18.?????????????? Mind reading - assuming that someone is thinking something negative, without having any definitive evidence

19.?????????????? Predicting the future – based on hearsay or on insufficient information

20.?????????????? Labelling yourself or others - Saying only negative things about yourself or other people

21.?????????????? Fortune-telling -Predicting that something bad will happen without any evidence.

22.?????????????? Overgeneralizing – based on your past experience – you may assume that you will never succeed because you failed the first time you attempted it – so you predict the future

23.?????????????? Overestimating your abilities

24.?????????????? Undermining your abilities and strengths

25.?????????????? Catastrophic Thinking – makes you worry about the worst possible outcome of a given situation or action – and times these are based on very unreasonable, ridiculous and irrational reasons – they may get triggered by anxiety, depression, PTSD, obsessive-compulsive disorder or another diagnosable mental health condition along with Brain chemistry as well as physical and social, financial, relationship, professional conditions

26.?????????????? Me OR Them Thinking Trap – You believe you are the SOLE cause of every setback and problem leads to the formation of guilt and disappointment in yourself and may make you isolate yourself

27.?????????????? When you believe everyone else is the SOLE cause of problems in your life without your having any role -leads to feeling anger and aggression.

28.?????????????? Helplessness Thinking Trap – You believe that the negative event will impact all areas of your life and that you have no control

29.?????????????? Mental habits make you - worry, criticize, complain, doubt, regret, downplay, and generally bring you back down to earth.

30.?????????????? I have got an unfair deal trap

31.?????????????? Oversimplification

32.?????????????? Magnifying any simple event into a disastrous one

33.?????????????? Making insignificant into a major

34.?????????????? Comparing other's strengths with your weakness

35.?????????????? Excessive Self-criticism and berating yourself

36.?????????????? Assuming that everyone thinks and believes same like you

39 Tips HOW TO GET OUT OF Your Thinking Trap

1.?? Accept that chances of succeeding when you try anything new are just plain luck – you can succeed in most meaningful goals –only after many trials and failures

2.?? Learn to face negative thoughts – without hiding, escaping or suppressing your feelings ?- this is very-very difficult – but can be done if your focus gets into trying to find solutions

3.?? Start ACTING ON YOUR VALUES - Choose the values that are most important to you

4.?? LEAVE the situation if it is all right – at least temporarily

5.?? Take action to change WHAT CAN BE CHANGED

6.?? Understand that trying to push away or escape and ignoring - difficult thoughts and feelings does not work

7.?? Identify whether you are stuck in the Happiness-thinking Trap – if you are thinking any of these - You will be happy when you reach this milestone Or that you cannot be happy unless this happens Or that you don’t deserve to be happy

8.?? ACCEPT THE PAIN THAT CANNOT BE CHANGED -Create space and stop fighting

9.?? Recognize and acknowledge that you have some negative thought

10.?????????????? Learn to be aware of the triggers – both people and situations that raise negative and uncomfortable thoughts and feelings

11.?????????????? Create your own response in advance to deal with these triggers effectively using healthy ways

12.?????????????? Identify if there are any negative thought patterns for an extended period of time -they might become rooted in your core belief or value system - the system in which you make decisions, behave and interact with others and yourself

13.?????????????? Learn to use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – read my article in this website on how to do CBT for yourself

14.?????????????? Challenge your rationale of thinking – find evidence to support or discard your assumptions and perceptions

15.?????????????? Identify what changes you can make in your habits – that would create empowering feelings and thoughts

16.?????????????? When you have identified – what works for you – practice all those to make them part of your nature as well as an automatic subconscious response

17.?????????????? Learn to let Go Of What you Cannot Control - you cannot control how other people behave -even if you are absolutely right and they are wrong – no one can make anyone act like they want them to

18.?????????????? Find joy in smaller things by observing all that is going well

19.?????????????? Focus on things that do matter to you and your loved ones – long-term

20.?????????????? Focus on taking actions that are within your area of control and influence

21.?????????????? Seek the help of your loved ones

22.?????????????? Reach Out For Professional Help – if nothing works

23.?????????????? Learn to Prove yourself wrong – by learning to challenge all your assumptions and perceptions as well as expert opinion – through learning the science of the things

This article was originally published as “36 Types Of Thinking Traps 39 Tips How to Break Out Of Your Thinking Traps “ in https://successunlimited-mantra.com/index.php/blog [1st]for more than 3000+ blogs, articles and answers on creating metamorphosis in every aspect of your life - personal, professional, business, mental, emotional, social, relationships - please visit all three links https://relationshipandhappiness.com/ [2nd] and https://www.quora.com/profile/Subhashis-Banerji [3rd]

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