Thinking Trap Buster

Everyone wants to be super cool when we find ourselves in challenging situations, find smart solutions and beat the odds to be a champion. That happens when we have the mindset of a Mind Warrior.

Who is a Mind Warrior

A Mind Warrior is a person with stable emotions when they face pressure. Mind Warriors are able to think clearly and effectively in any challenging situation because they are in control of their inner world.

How to be a Mind Warrior

To be a Mind Warrior you will need to:

(1) Befriend your emotions

• There is nothing wrong in feeling negative emotions.
• What is important is not to fear negative emotions but to identify what we are feeling.
• In order to be in control of these negative emotions, we need to understand the thought that is causing the emotion.

(2) Identify Distorted Thinking or Thinking Traps

• When a negative thought gets stuck in our heads and replays itself over and over again, it can really get us down.
• Some times, these thoughs are not true, have very litte facts to support it and can be quite irrational.  This form of problematic thinking is a Thinking Trap.
• So we need to identify these negative Thinking Traps that hold us captive in negative emotions.

It takes time to train up to be Mind Warrior. So let’s start here with a little game:

• Pick a Distorted Thinking Card and match it with the Thinking Traps in the spiderweb.
• You can also ask yourself what negative thought is trapping you at this time if you do not want to pick a Distorted Thinking Card. Share this negative thought with the game master and match it with a Thinking Trap.
• Use the bow and arrow to shoot at that Thinking Traps.

Here are some examples of Thinking Traps. Are you in the habit of thinking like these?

(1) Black or White thinking

• Viewing situations, people, or self as entirely bad or entirely good, nothing in between.
• Example: Peter’s football coach has said something nice about his football skill so Peter thinks the world about his coach. However, his Science teacher tried to correct his homework once and Peter thinks this teacher is against him.
• Peter’s thought:

(2) Heaven’s reward fallacy

• We expect our sacrifice and self-denial to pay off, as if someone is keeping score. We feel bitter when the reward doesn’t come.
• Example: Jorden has been doing all his science homework diligently and submitting it on time but he didn’t get selected to be the Science Monitor for his class.
• Jorden’s thoughts:

(3) Filtering

• Ignoring the positive things that happen and choosing to focus on the negative instead.
• Example: Kate had her hair cut short and styled differently. After receiving several compliments from friends and family, one person didn’t like her new hairdo and said something not so nice.
• Kate’s thought:

(4) Catastrophizing

• Blowing expected consequences out of proportion in a negative direction.
• Example: The teacher told Mary that she didn’t do too well for a Math test.
• Mary’s Thoughts:

(5) Over generalization

• When we come to a general conclusion based on a single incident or a single piece of evidence. If something bad happens only once, we expect it to happen over and over again. A person may see a single, unpleasant event as part of a never-ending pattern of defeat.
• Example: Susan’s friend James is usually late for their meetings.  Susan doesn’t want to friend any guys.
• Susan’s thought:

(6) Mind reading

• Making negative assumptions regarding other people’s thoughts and motives
• Example: Aaron inquired about a transfer to a new department but was told by that department manager that the position was already filled.
• Aaron’s thought:

Here is more that you can do to break free from negative thinking. Ask yourself the following Freedom Questions to reframe and change your negative thought to a positive one.

Congratulations, you are on your way to becoming a Mind Warrior!

Please give us your feedback on the Thinking Trap Buster game.