Automatic Negative Thoughts-How to Handle Black and White Thinking with Socratic Questions

How to handle negative thoughts?

That’s called “black-and-white thinking”.
Have you ever heard of a certain Socrates? 🙂

He came up with some interesting questions to ask ourselves:
→    The Socratic Questions

You know— close to Greece, where Socrates lived.
Italy’s culture was influenced quite a bit by Greece.
Anyway, let’s see how to use the Socratic Questions.
So we can handle negative thoughts.

1.    First, we need to notice the extreme thought.

For example:
→    I didn’t get the promotion I wanted, so my career is a failure.

Just write down your extreme thought.
Now we can start asking ourselves the Socratic questions.

2.    The first set of questions has this goal:
→    To question the evidence

So, ask yourself questions like:
→    What evidence do I have that supports this thought?
→    What evidence contradicts this thought?
→    What proof do I have that my career is a failure?
→    Did I receive positive feedback or achieve goals recently?
We just need to question our automatic thoughts.

3.    Alright! The second set of questions has this goal:
→    To explore alternatives

So, ask yourself:
→    Are there other ways to view this situation?
→    What would I say to a friend if they were thinking this way?
→    Could there be other factors influencing the promotion decision?
→    Are there other aspects of my job that are going well?
We just need to see things from a different angle.

4.    Okay, third set of questions.

The goal here is:
→    To consider the implications

So, ask yourself:
→    What are the effects of thinking this way on my emotions and actions?
→    How might this thinking influence my future decisions and behaviors?
→    How does thinking my career is a failure make me feel?
→    Does it impact my motivation or performance?

Why these questions?
Because they make us aware of the consequences of our thoughts.

As we know:
→    Humans change when they feel pain
So, if we get what might happen, we’re more likely to embrace change.

5.    The last set of questions has this goal:
→    To evaluate a balanced perspective

So, ask yourself:
→    What’s a more balanced way to think about this situation?
→    How can I view this with both pros and cons in mind?
→    What’s a more balanced view of my career situation?

Maybe not getting this promotion is just a temporary setback.
There are still many opportunities ahead, right?