RETHINKING YOUR THINKING Composition Workshop: Write for Life

Let’s review… What is the difference between a fixed and growth mindset? What steps can you take to change your mindset?

Session Objectives: To maximize your success quotient by: Identifying your thinking process and making appropriate adjustments. Practicing strategies that will allow you to be resilient in challenging circumstances.

What is resilience? The ability to bounce back in the face of adversity The ability to bounce forward in the face of opportunity

Resilient People Stuck People Believe they are in control Are engaged and committed to what they do See change as opportunity for growth Feel powerless Go through the motions See change as a stressor Are you resilient or just plain stuck?

What is your explanatory style?explanatory style Personal(me vs. not me) Permanent (always vs. not always) Pervasive (everything vs. not everything) Here’s an example:example

Me/always/everything Not me/never/not everything I am doing poorly in school because I am not smart. I did poorly on this test because I did not spend enough time preparing. I will make notecards, study at least 30 minutes each night, and attend the review session in order to be prepared for next week’s test. Y our explanatory style reflects your resilience

Me/always/everything Not me/never/not everything My students did poorly on the test because I’m a bad teacher. My students did poorly on the test because they did not read the assigned material and did could not participate in the review session. Your explanatory style reflects your resilience

Seven Highly Effective Resilience Skills:

3 Ways to Analyze Beliefs Learning Your ABCs Steering Clear of Thinking Traps Detecting Icebergs

1 Way to Transfer Your Attention Calming and Focusing

3 Ways to Shift Gears (aka Change Your Beliefs) Challenging Beliefs Putting it in Perspective Using Real-time Resilience

Learn Your ABCsABCs

Learn Your ABCs A-adversity: what pushes your buttons? B-beliefs about your adversity C-consequences: feelings and behaviors that result from your beliefs

Learn Your ABCs Think of a recent, vivid, specific adverse event in your life…

ABC WORKSHEET B:Ticker-tape belief (what you believe about your adversity in that moment) C:Consequences (emotions and behaviors) A:Adversity(describe objectively: who, what, when, where)

Learn Your ABCs Adversity Belief Consequence If you can change your thoughts, you can change your life!

Assignment #1 Complete ABC Worksheet Include a 1 paragraph analysis of how changing your B(elief) can change the C(onsequence).

Have you fallen into a thinking trap? Mind reading Fortune telling Catastrophizing Labeling Discounting positives Negative filter Overgeneralization Dichotomous thinking Shoulds Personalizing Blaming Unfair comparisons Regret orientation What If? Emotional Reasoning Inability to Disconfirm Judgment Focus

Assignment #2 Identify 2-3 Thinking Traps that you frequently fall into. Write about 1 specific incident when you succumbed to a Thinking Trap. Using what you learn this week, explain how you could rethink(B) this incident(A) and possibly change the outcome(C).

Thinking Trap WorksheetWorksheet

Assignment #3 Complete an invivo exposure for a worry and write about it or, Do an imaginal exposure for a worry.

Let’s Review What is resilience? What is explanatory style? What are 3 ways to analyze beliefs?

Icebergs Have you ever seen an iceberg from the bottom up?iceberg

Icebergs Icebergs are deeply held beliefs about how the world should operate and how you should operate in the world. Three general categories: Achievement –Beliefs about success Acceptance –Beliefs about how you should be perceived Control –Beliefs about being in charge

Icebergs Icebergs can make us blow things out of proportion Icebergs can make it difficult to make decisions Icebergs can make us repeat negative patterns

Examples of Icebergs I have to be strong. People can’t be trusted. The world is a dangerous place. People should be treated with dignity and respect. Asking for help is a sign of weakness. I should succeed at everything I put my mind to. People must respect me at all times. Women should be kind and supportive. A man doesn’t let his emotions show. Failure is a sign of weakness. I must never give up. Only weak people can’t solve their own problems.

Detect Icebergs What does this mean to me? What is the most upsetting part of this for me? What does this say about me? What is so bad about that? Is this iceberg helping me or hurting me?

Assignment #4 Identify an Iceberg that you have. Answer the following questions: 1. Why is this important to me? 2. What is the most upsetting part of this for me? 3. What does this say about me? 4. What is so bad about that? 5. Is this iceberg helping me or hurting me?

Calming and Focusing Helps to transfer your attention: Controlled breathing Muscle relaxation Positive imagery

What does shifting gears(aka changing your thinking) do? Halts irrational thinking Reduces anxiety Saves time that can be spent on contingency planning Increases productivity

Practice Challenging Your Beliefs 1. Evaluate your ABCs. 2. Determine the “why” of your belief. 3. Look at your explanatory style. 4. Develop alternative beliefs. 5. Look for evidence for and against your beliefs. 6. Determine how much control you have. 7. Consider new beliefs.

Putting it in Perspective 1. Identify Adversity 2. Identify 3 worst case scenarios 3. Determine how likely each scenario is 4. Identify 3 best case scenarios 5. Identify 3 most likely outcomes 6. Identify 2-3 solutions

Putting it in Perspective ChartChart

Assignment #5 Complete PIP Chart. Write a paragraph about what you learned from completing the chart.

Real-Time Resilience Counter negative and counterproductive thoughts at the moment they occur using Optimism- “A better way of looking at this is…” Fact-finding- “That’s not true because…” Perspective- “A more likely outcome is…and I can…”

When is Real-Time Resilience helpful? When you need to focus on the task at hand When negative thoughts are sabotaging your ability to communicate and/or complete an immediate goal

Here’s what RTR looks like…RTR Let’s try some role play…

Assignment #6 Use RTR to analyze an adversity. Write a paragraph about the adversity and finish the following statements: “A better way of looking at this is…” “That’s not true because…” “A more likely outcome is…and I can…”

Questions and Insights