Thought Circles & Tornadoes of Negativity

Let’s take an imaginary student named Trent who has finished practice and is waiting at the stadium for his parents to pick him up and give him a ride home. The parents were to arrive at 5:00 and it is now 5:10. what do you imagine is going through Trent’s mind? Share some possible examples.

If this were Trent’s first thought, what might be his second…third…? This is what we call a Thought Circle. A person or group that is operating Below The Line (BTL) or a person or group in the midst of a Thought Circle has the same effect as a Tornado.

Thought Circles Thought Circles are formed because we: –Jump to conclusions –Imagine the worst possible outcome –Can be highly judgemental Two ways to manage Thought Circles: 1.Be aware when they are starting 2.Stick with the facts

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Each person in your pod add Trent’s next thought…for a worry thought circle, then for an anger thought circle. Let’s take an imaginary student named Trent who has finished practice and is waiting at the stadium for his parents to pick him up and give him a ride home. The parents were to arrive at 5:00 and it is now 5:10. what do you imagine is going through Trent’s mind?

Example of an Anger Thought Circle Read Script

How to Manage Worry No yes

Challenge Your “What if’s”… What evidence do you have that this may happen? What are the facts as you know them right now? How likely is it to happen? What are the other things that may happen? Are the other things more likely to happen? What would you do if it did happen? What alternatives are there? How likely is this? Am I spending energy on the most important issues? Am I hiding behind these “what ifs” and “should haves”? How real is this threat? How severe is it?

Am I underestimating my coping capacity? Am I over-emphasizing the importance of control? Can I see the difference between the thoughts that pop into my head and what I choose to do about them? Am I avoiding the real issue? This can have a short term benefit, (lowering anxiety levels) but long term disadvantage (never dealing with the real problem) Am I ruminating? (reflect on over and over again) Do you notice how negatively you are thinking? What might be a more positive way of thinking about it? Is there another conclusion that you could draw? Have you thought about that happening (something more positive) Challenge the following sort of words “always”, “never”

As with tornadoes, negative thought circles usually occur when we are BTL. Being aware of when we are BTL, is a characteristic of Top 20’s. Discuss in your pod a time when you observe or participated in a social tornado. Each person spend 1 minute describing the event. As you listen, look for possible causes that may have formed the tornado.

Where are tornadoes likely to occur in your life? Share with your pod members.

The first sign of an actual Tornado almost always occurs when someone who is not present is mentioned in a negative way or a negative general statement is made.

We can also be Tornado starters. We can have the reputation among friends as someone who rips on others. If so, people come to expect that of us – it becomes part of our identity within the group. We then gain our status by entertaining the group in this way.

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