Thoughts on Trial
I’m a doer when it comes to learning and absorbing. Even in school, I absorbed new things by writing them down. It’s probably why I’m also a visual person, it helps my brain put things together. After I got my ACC in life coaching, I continued to get certified in cognitive behavioral coaching and that’s where I learned about putting our thoughts on trial. It’s another great tool to add to our recovery toolkit. This exercise makes you stop and think and pull out the puzzle pieces of your thoughts or even situations and examine them, then challenge them.
For the sake of the blog, I’ll use a very basic example.
We’ll begin by putting on our thinking caps:
This may be a bit uncomfortable, but the goal is to move toward the positive:
Think about what happened leading up to that situation or that thought.
Was there an emotional trigger? A physical trigger?
What were your thoughts about the people who were there or were who missing? (Or the place, thing, etc.)
How did you feel about being there?
How did you feel about what you did or didn't do?
On a scale of 1-10 (1=very negative and 10=very positive), how do you feel about the thought/situation?
Next, we put pen to paper:
On a separate line, write down each thought/situation that comes to mind.
For each thought/situation, mark if it's a fact or if it's your opinion.
Example: I get migraines. Fact
Example: Everyone thinks they're no big deal. Opinion
Example: People judge me because of them. Opinion
Put your thoughts on trial:
Imagine you're in a courtroom. The lawyer walks over to interrogate you. She challenges the truthfulness of your opinions. For each opinion (I only did one example):
Write down three pieces of evidence that support the thought.
Example: Everyone thinks they're no big deal:
They tell me to take Advil
They tell me to change my diet
Excedrin commercials
Write down three pieces of evidence that go against the thought.
My family and friends “get it”
President Bush wrote a letter of support
My employer and most coworkers understand.
Review what you wrote:
After looking at what you wrote for each opinion:
How do you feel on a scale of 1-10?
Have you learned anything about the situation or yourself during this exercise?
Were your thoughts based on beliefs instead of facts?
If so, where did those beliefs come from?
Is this something you'd like to work on in the future?
If you have any questions, please let me know. I answer my emails, with no strings attached. I’m here to help!
Sending everyone happy and healthy vibes,
Life Coach Laura
