14: Mind Reading: A Common Thought Distortion

Episode Overview:

In today’s shorty episode I am talking about "Mind Reading" which is a common thought distortion most of us experience, at least from time to time. Mind Reading occurs when you jump to conclusions about what someone else is thinking and assume that they are thinking something negative about you, without having any real evidence to support your conclusion. Mind Reading can become problematic when it happens ongoing and you don’t recognize that it is happening, and therefore don’t challenge the thoughts you are having that are likely not true. In this episode of the Women's Success Coach Podcast, I am sharing with you why mind reading happens and what you can do to change it, or make sure it does not happen ongoing.

I also have a guide that accompanies the action steps in this episode. You can grab it at https://www.karenvincentsolutions.com/thought-distortion-guide or by clicking HERE.


What I Cover:

• What are thought distortions.
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• What is Mind Reading and examples of Mind Reading.
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• 5 steps you can go through to challenge faulty thinking that is the result of Mind Reading.

Let's Take Some Action:

Grab the guide that walks you through each of these steps HERE.

5 steps to challenge and change mind reading thinking:

#1: Write out examples of when you assumed someone was thinking negatively about you. Who are they? What was the situation? What did you assume they were thinking? 

#2: For each instance, on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being none and 10 being enough to stand up in a court of law, how much evidence do you have to know that this thought is true? Write a number next to each instance you identified above.

#3: How does assuming that someone is thinking negatively about you benefit you? 

#4: How does assuming that someone is thinking negatively about you make you feel? Is feeling this feeling, without really knowing what they are thinking useful?

#5: When you don't have concrete evidence that someone thinks negatively about you, how else can you choose to think about the situation that would result in better feelings? 

Useful Resources:

Do you worry too much, overthink, assume the worst-case scenarios, spend a lot of time focusing on negative things that have happened, or discredit positive things happening? If so, you are dealing with the human brain we have all been given and you are not alone.

The good news is, you can change this and it may not take as long as you may think! If you want a free resource that will help you examine your thinking patterns, and change those that are not serving you, grab my 5 Common Thought Distortions Guide HERE.

Let’s stay in touch:

Website: www.KarenVincentSolutions.com

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenVincentSolutions

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KarenVCoach