1. Jumping to Conclusions or Ready, Fire, Aim. Jumping to Conclusions means there is some type of settling on a belief when there is little or no evidence to support it. You’re probably thinking to yourself, how does this relate to my life as a professional in rehabilitation?
Example: You send a long email to a colleague in which you describe some challenges you are facing and you ask for this person’s input. Your colleague sends you a one-sentence reply. You think to yourself, “This person really just doesn’t care about my situation. He/she only cares about himself or herself.” As you consider this type of example, it’s classic Jumping to Conclusions - that Ready, Fire, Aim. Instead of getting ready, aiming, focusing your beliefs, and then firing, you get that all confused and jump to conclusions.
2. Tunnel Vision. It’s what we call Forest through the Trees. Tunnel Vision is thinking about less significant details in a situation while screening out the more important aspects.
Example: You turn in case notes for your supervisor to review. You are quite pleased with your notes because they are detailed and thorough. However, after turning the notes into your supervisor, you notice that you forgot to include notes on one session with the consumer. You think to yourself, “I blew it; my supervisor will think I did a shoddy job.” This is a classic example of Tunnel Vision - the Forest through the Trees. You are so focused on the one session that was not included in the overall case file, that you can’t see the great job that you did on the case overall. Be aware of the Forest through the Trees and Tunnel Vision.
3. Overgeneralizing, or Character Assassination. Overgeneralizing is settling on global beliefs about one’s general lack of worth or ability, based on a single adversity.
Example: A consumer you are working with does not follow through on the plans you developed together. You think to yourself, “He or she is simply unmotivated and is clearly not invested in this process.” This is a classic example of Overgeneralizing and Character Assassination. Is this an example in your process of only one incidence, or does this happen all the time? Is it something that is present always? Be aware of Character Assassination and Overgeneralizing.
4. Magnifying and Minimizing or the Wrong Side of the Binoculars. Magnifying and Minimizing are errors in evaluating events in which the negative aspects of the situation are magnified and the positive aspects of the situation are minimized.
Example: You give a presentation in a meeting. One person does not make eye contact with you throughout your presentation. The others smile, nod, and ask important questions. You think to yourself, “I must have really blown that. John was so embarrassed for me he couldn’t even look me in the eye.” This is an example of Magnifying and Minimizing. In this case, you have completed the presentation and done a really great job. But, you are so focused on the one person that wasn’t making eye contact with you that you can’t see the bigger picture. You are magnifying something that isn’t important and minimizing the overall presentation - Wrong Side of the Binoculars.
5. Personalizing or Me, Me, Me. It’s all about you. Personalizing is the tendency to automatically attribute the cause of an adversity to one’s personal characteristics or actions.
Example: You have a new consumer that tells you he has been feeling really down and is having a hard time adjusting to all the changes in life. You think to yourself, “This consumer would be doing so much better if I were more helpful. I’m just not a good enough rehabilitation professional.” This is a classic example of Personalizing. You look to yourself first instead of considering the overall situation, both the consumer and yourself, in the rehabilitation process. Watch out for Personalizing.
6. Externalizing or Them, Them, Them. Externalizing is the tendency to automatically attribute the cause of an adversity to other people or to circumstances.
Example: You’re not closing as many cases as other counselors in your office and you think to yourself, “My caseload is tougher than everyone else’s and it’s just too hard to find employers who are willing to work with me.” This is Externalizing - looking outside of yourself for the cause of this adversity instead of considering the outside, external part, as well as your contribution to the caseload issue. Be aware of Externalizing and Them, Them, Them. It’s not only them, but is it also you?
7. Mind Reading or The Great Waldo. Mind Reading is assuming that you know what another person is thinking or expecting another person to know what you are thinking.
Example: You see a friend or a colleague laughing with someone else in your office. When you approach them it feels a little awkward. You think to yourself, “These people are just not glad to see me and they really wish I hadn’t come over.” This is a classic example of Mind Reading. You don’t know what they are thinking and they don’t know what you are thinking. Don’t be the Great Waldo and be aware of Mind Reading. Ask questions. Make sure to clarify the situation. Don’t leave it up to Mind Reading.
Be aware of your Thinking Traps. Are you Jumping to Conclusions - Ready, Fire, Aim? Do you have Tunnel Vision - the Forest through the Trees? Be aware of Overgeneralizing with Character Assassination. Are you Magnifying and Minimizing - looking through the wrong side of the binoculars? Also, consider Personalizing. Are you focusing on yourself? Or, are you focusing on others or Externalizing? Finally, be aware of Mind Reading. We are not always aware of what is going on with someone else’s mind and people can’t read our thoughts. So we have to communicate effectively.
Thinking Traps are very common mistakes in our beliefs. We have to be aware that Thinking Traps impact our overall ticker-tape beliefs and our outcomes - both behaviors and emotions.
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