Your Low-Stress Guide to Leveling-Up Your Bedtime Routine
Are You Burnt Out or Depressed?
Its near impossible to banish unproductive thought patterns from your mind for good.
Highlighted here are five of the most common.
The most common unproductive thought patterns
1.
All-or-nothing thinking
Wilding says all-or-nothing thinking is an unproductive thought pattern many of her clients struggling with.
This is when you see a situation in absolutes without room for a middle ground, she says.
licensed social worker and performance coach
One example of this she says is, if I dont get this right, Im a complete failure.
For example, maybe you have a personal goal of sharing your homemade healthy recipes with the world.
Heres Wildings advice for both scenarios: look for the middle ground.
Heres the thing about overgeneralizing: this punch in of thinking is totally untrue.
Whenever it surfaces, Wilding says to pause, take a minute, and think about the facts.
Hey, maybe you didnt exactly nail that last presentation.
Because of that, you likely practiced and overly prepped for the next one, right?
The fact is whatever happened in the past doesnt have any bearing on what will happen in the future.
What we tell ourselves is often a very unhelpful story.
licensed social worker and performance coach
So change the script, Wilding says.
One example of this is having trouble accepting compliments, she says.
Another example she gives is doing something well but telling yourself anyone could have done it.
What were your moments of strength?
For example, I feel inadequate, so therefore I must be inadequate.
Newsflash: emotions arent always accurate representations of who you are or whats happening.
Then, once the timer dings, move on.
This is a way to compartmentalize it so it doesnt take over your entire day, Wilding says.
Ever heard of a worry journal, a place to down your worries?
Dealing withemotional reasoningis the same idea.
Should statements
Should statements center around the expectations we place on ourselves, Wilding explains.
Ever struggle with something and think I should be better at this by now!
Thats a should statement rearing its ugly head.
Its related to competence because competence is about believing you might do something; self-efficacy.
Managing should statements is all about giving yourself grace.
Wilding encourages thinking about where the expectations were placing on ourselves come from.
Are they from your boss?
Instead of focusing on what you cant do (yet!
), focus on what you’ve got the option to do and the progress youre making.
It bears repeating that unproductive thought patterns are bound to creep up.
Like little gnats, its nearly impossible to get rid of them for good.
But that doesnt mean they have to take over your mind.
Youcansquash them when they surface.
With some practice, theyll come up left often and the exact opposite will take over: positivity.
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