How to Challenge Your Cognitive Distortions

How to get rid of negative thoughts?

That’s something I experienced firsthand.
Not a lot, but sometimes it happened.
I assumed I knew what others were thinking or feeling.
But without any evidence.
And as you know, it’s not funny, right?
It’s like being at a party and assuming everyone is silently judging you from across the room.
In psychology, it’s called Mind Reading.
So, here are 3 things that worked for me:
1. The first thing I used to do was try to challenge my thoughts.
How?
By asking myself a question similar to this:
→  Are my assumptions aligned with the reality?
Many times I realized that they were not aligned at all.
And just this small step made me feel better.

2. The second thing was stepping on others’ shoes.
After realizing my thoughts were “fake,” I used to do this:
→  I tried to understand others’ perspectives and emotions.
All that without talking to them.
Justin putting myself in their shoes.
This allowed me to:
→  See things from their point of view
→  Reduce the likelihood of misinterpretation
→  And of course, cultivate empathy

3. Now what?
Well, if the first two steps didn’t work out, I used to communicate with them.
99% of the time my thoughts were fake.
And when others tell us our thoughts are not real, well, we feel better.
Even if we figure that out without others telling us directly.

So, coming back to your question:
→  Challenge your assumptions
→  Put yourself in others’ shoes
→  Communicate with them openly and transparently
These three steps are gonna help you drive away those negative thoughts