Thinking Error List
thinking errors January 28th, 2009
(Photo by: kevindooley)
I was asked to compile a list of all the thinking errors that we have discussed for easy reference. Feel free to print these out and study them and keep them around as a reminder. If you want to master the skill of accurate thinking it is first necessary to recognize thinking errors and then replace them with intentionally structured accurate thoughts. Someone who is truly serious about accurate thinking will find it very useful to memorize this thinking error list. Memorizing three to five of them at a time until you have all of them memorized is a great way to do this. A good exercise is to sit down to a 30 minute television show once a day or so and pick out all the thinking errors in the show and then change them to accurate thoughts.
Here’s the list:
2. Jumping to conclusions without taking the time to gather all the facts.
3. Filtering out the positive in order to point out the negative.
4. Polarized Thinking - Everything is either good or bad.
5. Overgeneralization: viewing events in terms of always or never.
6. Mind reading: Concluding what others think and do without proof or being told by them
7. Personalization: Taking events and statements personally
8. Maximizing - making more out of events than they merit.
9. Minimizing - making less out of events than they merit.
10. Blaming - Placing blame on others or things and finding fault.
11. Poor me thinking: self pity, gloom and doom
12. Controlling - attempting to control others, events and situations.
13. Emotional Reasoning: If it’s felt then it must be so.
14. Being right: Insisting on being right no matter what.
15. Heaven’s Reward Fallacy - bad things don’t happen to good people
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Tip: Humility and a positive attitude are the foundations for thinking accurately.
Remember: Your thoughts are your choice.
(A special thanks to Ron Wilkins for helping me to get on the journey of thinking accurately. See you soon, Ron.)
Hi Jennifer,
This is a great list. I encounter 2, 4 and 10 most often in others, and 1, 6 and 14 in myself. Thanks for the reminder that these are all errors in thinking.
Daphnes last blog post..Becoming A Person of Value
Hi Jennifer,
This is awesome, thanks much!! All in one place, what a great resource to refer back to often.
I should bookmark this page (note: this is why I need this reference - there I go breaking rule #16!).
Really good list! Thank you so much for taking the time to put it together.
Hi Jennifer.
Thanks for putting this list together. I THINK it is awesome. Now THAT is a good thought.
Davinas last blog post..This Is Me, Then and Now
Those were very challenging and revealing lessons, in a good but painful way. Congrats on completing the series!
ari
Ari Koinumas last blog post..Intuition: Leaping without Knowing Where You’ll Land
It’s almost uncomfortable to read, since I recognize so many of these as things I do! Still, it’s helpful to see them in plain print for what they are: errors that can be corrected.
Sara at On Simplicitys last blog post..My Dirty Blogging Secret
Hi Daphne. Glad you like the list. We all have ones that we use more often than others. (I share 14 with you. Hey, at least I’m sharing and not arguing with you about it.
) Awareness is key to reducing the amount of times we use them.
Lance, per your request…
You really “should” bookmark this.
Christine, my pleasure. Hope it’s helpful.
Davina. your welcome. Your THINKING is getting really good.
Ari, no pain, no gain.
The pain is worth it, isn’t it!
Sara, I know what you mean. I have come a LONG way, but still I see some that I need to master further. It is helpful to see them all in a list, isn’t it. It’s even more helpful to know that we CAN correct the errors.
I can certainly identify with many of the thinking traps here!! Thanks for putting up this summary list. Very useful indeed!
Evelyn Lims last blog post..101 Negative Money Beliefs
[...] However, a rotten attitude can be used as an opportunity to flick the ON switch. Use your inner critic as a sounding board and move past thinking errors. [...]
An awesome list, Jennifer. Thanks for compiling the list and sharing it with us.
Arswinos last blog post..Sacrifice Play
jennifer, thank you for this gift.
i have been working on me quite a bit lately. i find this list refreshing and a reality check.
i appreciate the time you took compiling them and setting them up with the links to the long description. thank you again for helping to make my life better by sharing these with me.
storm
storms last blog post..the goat loves…
Great list. I must say guilty as charged. I do some of these without realizing it. I need to be more mindful of what I am saying and thinking. Thanks for the reminder!
Evelyn, your welcome. It’s a very rare person indeed who doesn’t identify with any of these. Your human, like me. Glad you found it useful.
Arswino, your welcome. It was my pleasure. Use it in any way you like.
storm, your welcome. Your comment almost made me cry. I felt so good knowing that I have helped to make your life easier/better. Good luck with all the changes you are making. Wow, an even better you! This is going to be good.
I have really appreciated your thoughtful comments here with this series. Thank you.
Hi Laurie. Guilty here too, but becoming less so. Some of them will inevitably slip up every so often even after we completely master the skill of accurate thinking, I’m sure, but have knowledge to recognize them and change them at any time is priceless. Enjoy becoming more aware.
I didn’t find you until you were nearly finished with the lessons on peace, but I’ve gone back and reviewed most of them this week, and I have been blessed by what you have shared. Thanks so much for thinking to do this. I’m eager I can start applying what I’ve learned.
Tammie @ Are You For Real?s last blog post..Two Kinds Of Fear, And How They Control Your Life
Hi Tammie. Better late than never! I’m so glad that you had the opportunity to go back and take a look at the posts from this series. It’s powerful stuff. Enjoy applying your new found knowledge.
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