Common Thought Patterns That Secretly Control Your Life

Though we are all uniquely different in many ways, we share behaviors. Some behaviors are based on thoughts and beliefs that may or may not be rooted in reality.

A child may fail to make a sports team not because he isn’t gifted athletically, but because of a lack of preparation. If the child is cut from a sports team because he wasn't prepared, and believes that is a sign he can never achieve anything physically or athletically, he is operating with bad information.

He may never attempt to make a team again and miss out on fulfilling personal achievements. That's an example of how a limiting belief can hold you back. Here are a few common thought patterns that threaten to keep you from living your best life.

Perfectionism

This belief says you shouldn't attempt anything unless you are guaranteed you will be 100% successful. A perfectionist attitude can paralyze you into inaction and keep you from fulfilling rewarding experiences.

Catastrophizing – “The Sky Is Falling! The Sky Is Falling!”

Don't believe everything you are told. You should embrace that mindset even when the voice you are talking to is your own. Let's spend some time with Chicken Little to drive this point home.

Chicken Little, sometimes called Henny Penny, is the protagonist in a story that teaches a valuable lesson. An acorn falls from a tree and hits her on the head, leading her to believe that the sky is falling.

She runs around alerting her friends and anyone who will listen to her, saying, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!"

Those who hear her spread the message as well, and soon, all the animals are looking for a safe place to avoid the crashing sky. A cunning fox, Foxy Loxy, convinces them that there is safety in his lair. Thankful for refuge, the animals enter his lair, and he eats them all.

Chicken Little believed a catastrophe would befall her rather than taking the time to investigate what happened. We often do the same thing, immediately concluding that our actions or inactions will lead to the worst possible outcome.

This tale teaches the lessons of not believing your first impression and not exaggerating or overblowing a situation without objective consideration. Catastrophizing is a common cognitive distortion that can lead to ill-informed decisions.

Emotional Reasoning

We sometimes regard our emotions as the truth when that isn't the case. You are entitled to your feelings. Just consider them objectively before you base your actions or beliefs on them.

Please take a minute to consider the facts of a situation rather than how you feel about it. Reflecting can prevent you from making decisions based on emotions alone, which can sometimes lead to an unfavorable outcome.

Overgeneralization

This is a common cognitive fallacy. You draw a conclusion from little evidence. This cognitive distortion leads you to believe that if you create a terrible outcome one time, you are doomed to produce that result forever. A single negative experience or belief creates the assumption that no other result is possible.