A s s ig n me nt s s e s s i o n 4
Recognizing non-helping thoughts Thoughts have influence over how you feel. How you think and feel in a certain situation largely defines your reaction. We have the tendency the think our thoughts are true, to see them as facts. Often what we think is our interpretation of the reality, and that is not necessarily always true. There is quite a difference between an objective perception and an interpretation. So, you can investigate whether or not your thoughts are realistic and adjust your thoughts if necessary. Events or things that everyone can see we usually call an observation. For instance: Jan is playing soccer. That is something we can all see and perceive. When you say: “Jan is good at playing soccer”, you could disagree with that. We call that an interpretation. You could also that an interpretation is an opinion. That is a thought which can be either true or not true.
Assignment session 4.3 See for the following comments whether it is an interpretation or an observation My boss did not greet me this morning, he must not like me When she said that to her, I saw her flinch face They were just staring me away After I entered, he left already after 2 minutes People do not speak to me often because they find me boring He said to me that I better got out of there When I entered the room, they all stopped talking. They must have been talking about me He said nothing and looked straight at me
Session 4
Rebalance Rebalance
Personalcoaching coaching and Personal andcouples couplestherapy therapy
Observation/interpretation Observation/interpretation Observation/interpretation Observation/interpretation Observation/interpretation Observation/interpretation Observation/interpretation Observation/interpretation
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