Cognitive Distortion
Posted on July 19, 2011 by Sonya Surrett, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
We tend to put positive components to the back of our memory. Read the paper or turn on the television. We dwell on dirty laundry.
Cognitive Distortion is a name connected to the focus of negative components of situations or experiences. We tend to put positive components to the back of our memory. Read the paper or turn on the television. We dwell on dirty laundry. This desensitizing can lead to a distortion of our mind sets and our paradigm of the world around us. In most cases we aren’t truly aware that these distortions exist until we hear ourselves say something so negative that we wonder where in the world that thought came from. Worse yet is when someone in our life tells us that we are negative or a pessimist.
If these cognitive distortions are not dealt with we cannot see the whole picture. Optimistic choices are not entertained. We may begin to feel bitter and assume only negative thoughts about others and in life situations and choices. When we only conceive the hard negative facts our lives began to bemoan a suffering or miserable existence. Living life in this way holds a limited quality of life.
One way that we consciously distort our situations in life is by verbalizing how we experience and think about life. If we use few words we limit our ability to describe all our opportunities and challenges. All situations in life can lead to fullness and we must be careful not to generalize or slip around useful ingredients.
Take a few minutes to answer a couple of questions. These questions will show you where you stand with cognitive distortions. Your answers can help you realize how you feel about yourself, people around you, and others around the world. Think about each of the 10 questions below. Take an in-depth approach. You may be surprised!
Q1) Do you have a tendency to ignore the positive giving it that no big deal disadvantage?
Q2) Do you jump to conclusions without all the facts? Assuming you know what the other one is thinking or deciding you know what will happen in the future?
Q3) Do you allow one little thing to spoil the whole experience? Do you dwell on a negative response or result?
Q4) Do you use limiting words like should, always, must, and ought to when making decisions? The paper must be placed on this shelf!
Q5) Do you think every decision is yes/no, either/or, or all/nothing? Are shades of gray conceivable?
Q6) Are feelings what you draw on or facts when making decisions?
Q7) Can a single negative experience drag you down into a pattern of defeat?
Q8) Do you blame others for your decisions? Are they to blame for your actions or words?
Q9) Does one action constitute the encompassing judgment for a condition or experience? I am a failure because_______________.
Q10) Do you tend to over exaggerate a situation to play up failure?
I would love to know what you found out! Shoot me an email or give me a call.
