Dr Daniel Amen identified a problem that impairs people's happiness and success in life.
He called the problem "ANTs"...Automatic Negative Thoughts.
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Control of Automatic Negative Thoughts is a way to improve the quality of one's life1.
Control of Automatic Negative Thoughts is also a way to expand one's ability to Influence other people.
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"Summary of A.N.T. Species2:
- "Always" thinking: thinking in words like always, never, no one, every one, every time, everything.
- Focusing on the negative: only seeing the bad in a situation.
- Fortune telling: predicting the worst possible outcome to a situation.
- Mind reading3: believing that you know what another person is thinking, even though they haven't told you.
- Thinking with your feelings: believing negative feelings without ever questioning them.
- Guilt beatings: thinking in words like "should, must, ought or have to."
- Labeling: attaching a negative label to yourself or to someone else.
- Personalization: innocuous events are taken to have personal meaning.
- Blame: blaming someone else for your own problems."
Footnotes
- The process of controlling ANTs is a method [say, cognitive behavioural therapy method] of moving from pessimism toward optimism.
- Source: AHHA Self-Help Articles Collection link
- Mind reading: An important example is jumping to conclusions about other people's Intentions. Another important example of jumping to conclusions is Attribution Bias.
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"In psychology, an attribution bias or attributional bias is a cognitive bias that refers to the systematic errors made when people evaluate and/or try to find reasons for their own and others' behaviors. People constantly make attributions regarding the cause of their own and others’ behaviors; however, attributions do not always accurately mirror reality. Rather than operating as objective perceivers, people are prone to perceptual errors that lead to biased interpretations of their social world."