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CBI Session for the week of January 31st, 2022
CBI Session for the week of January 31st, 2022
Demetrius only!
Module 5 Session 2
Module 5 Session 2
Flexing Your Thinking:
Flexing Your Thinking:
Catch It, Check It, Change It
Catch It, Check It, Change It
This week in CBI we are taking about
This week in CBI we are taking about
FLEXING YOUR THINKING
FLEXING YOUR THINKING
when your thoughts are creating problems.
when your thoughts are creating problems.
In the last session, we looked at common thinking traps that our brains fall into. Today we are going to look at what to do once you realize you are falling into one of those traps - HOW to flex your thinking.
Here are two examples:
Here are two examples:
Example 1:
Example 1:
You find out about an opportunity to get certified as a forklift driver. However, you've never driven a forklift before, and your brain JUMPS TO CONCLUSIONS and tells you:
"I've never driven a forklift before, so I won't be any good at it. There is no point in trying to get certified."
"I've never driven a forklift before, so I won't be any good at it. There is no point in trying to get certified."
In this situation, if you were to listen to your brain, you would never even give yourself the opportunity to learn a new skill, which would cause you to miss out on possible job opportunities.
Example 2
Example 2
Your friend gets shot in a drive-by. You don't know who shot them. Your brain FILTERS out everything except retaliation, and tells you:
"If I don't retaliate, I'll be more vulnerable. I must find out who did this and hit them back."
"If I don't retaliate, I'll be more vulnerable. I must find out who did this and hit them back."
In this situation, if you were to listen to your brain, you would be putting your own life at risk for harm, death, or jail, AND continuing the cycle of violence that has plagued your community.
While we can’t control our thoughts all the time, we can learn to be more “flexible” with our thinking and view things from different perspectives. We do this by
- noticing our thoughts
- checking them for problems, and
- changing them to something more helpful or accurate.
By changing our thoughts, we change our FEELINGS, BODY SENSATIONS, and ACTIONS, and we can changing the OUTCOME.
The 3 C's:
The 3 C's:
Catch it, Check it, Change it.
Catch it, Check it, Change it.
Catch it – When you notice yourself having a strong unpleasant feeling, stop and ask yourself, “What was I just thinking?”
Catch it – When you notice yourself having a strong unpleasant feeling, stop and ask yourself, “What was I just thinking?”
Check it – Once you’ve identified the thought, ask yourself the following two questions:
Check it – Once you’ve identified the thought, ask yourself the following two questions:
1. Is this thought ACCURATE? (What is the evidence?)
1. Is this thought ACCURATE? (What is the evidence?)
2. Is this thought HELPFUL? (Will this thought lead to actions that help me accomplish my goals?)
2. Is this thought HELPFUL? (Will this thought lead to actions that help me accomplish my goals?)
Change it – If you determine that the thought is NOT ACCURATE or NOT HELPFUL, try to re-phrase it in a different way that is more accurate or more helpful.
Change it – If you determine that the thought is NOT ACCURATE or NOT HELPFUL, try to re-phrase it in a different way that is more accurate or more helpful.
Let's apply this to the examples above.
Let's apply this to the examples above.
Example 1 (Forklift):
Example 1 (Forklift):
Catch It:
Catch It:
- The thought you had was "I've never driven a forklift before, so I won't be any good at it. There is no point in trying to get certified."
Check It:
Check It:
- Is this thought accurate? NO. Just because you haven't ever tried something doesn't mean you won't be good at it with practice.
- Is this thought helpful? NO. If you act based on this thought, you will miss out on possible opportunities which could help you reach your goals.
Change It:
Change It:
- A more accurate and helpful thought might be this: "This is an opportunity to learn a new skill to help me get a job. I don't know if I will be any good at it, but I'll never know until I try."
Example 2 (Retaliation):
Example 2 (Retaliation):
Catch It:
Catch It:
- The thought you had was "If I don't retaliate, I'll be more vulnerable. I must find out who did this and hit them back."
Check It:
Check It:
- Is this thought accurate? NO. You are actually making yourself more vulnerable if you retaliate.
- Is this thought helpful? NO. Acting on this thought would increase your risk of harm, death, or jail, and would create more violence in the community, possibly putting more people that you love at risk.
Change It:
Change It:
- A more accurate and helpful thought might be this: "It's not fair that my friend got shot. I can't control what other people do, I can only control my actions. I need to be safe and smart."
It is important to remember that we can't always turn every thought into a "positive" one - some situations are just negative! What is really important is being FLEXIBLE with your thinking, seeing DIFFERENT ways to look at a situation, and choosing one that leads you to ACT in line with your values and goals.
It is important to remember that we can't always turn every thought into a "positive" one - some situations are just negative! What is really important is being FLEXIBLE with your thinking, seeing DIFFERENT ways to look at a situation, and choosing one that leads you to ACT in line with your values and goals.
Check out this quick video which explains how to use the Three C's.
Check out this quick video which explains how to use the Three C's.
It may feel like a lot of work to change our thoughts, because our brains are used to thinking this way.
It may feel like a lot of work to change our thoughts, because our brains are used to thinking this way.
However, the more you practice flexing your thinking and looking at things differently, the easier it will become. It will literally RE-WIRE your brain.
However, the more you practice flexing your thinking and looking at things differently, the easier it will become. It will literally RE-WIRE your brain.
The more often you think a thought, the stronger it will become.
The more often you think a thought, the stronger it will become.
Now that you've reviewed the lesson on flexing your thinking, take a few minutes to reflect on your own experience and answer the following questions.
Now that you've reviewed the lesson on flexing your thinking, take a few minutes to reflect on your own experience and answer the following questions.
Be sure to read the all the directions carefully before answering the questions!
Be sure to read the all the directions carefully before answering the questions!
Don't forget to click submit at the bottom to get credit for CBI session!
Don't forget to click submit at the bottom to get credit for CBI session!
(Technical Tip: If you get a white screen after you click "next" or "submit", SCROLL UP. The next page is further up on the screen.)
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