Looking at the situation differently: changing the way you think about a situation, allows you to change the way you feel and act. In this exercise, we will try to adopt a different point of view regarding what you are experiencing right now.
- Write down on a sheet of paper all the thoughts that automatically come to your mind. Write down the first thoughts that come to you, even if they seem absurd.
- Now, try to find other possibilities to these thoughts, other explanations to the situation, even if they seem unlikely to you. To facilitate these “alternative” thoughts, you can try to put yourself in the place of another person or imagine what a friend might say to you, or what you would say to a friend who is in the same situation.
You can also share your thoughts with someone else you feel comfortable with. The person can help you find other ways to interpret the situation.