According to experts, each of us makes more than 20,00 decisions every day - small and large. Although thinking is the basis of our actions, we regularly make mistakes in the process. Often, we get in our own way with so-called thinking errors: A misinterpreted piece of information or a wrong assumption can be the starting point for a negative mental spiral. Three typical thinking errors - and how you can resolve them.
Mistake 1: Black-and-white thinking
Many people tend to think and act in absolute either-or categories. Right or wrong. Success or happiness. My opinion or no idea. Those who cultivate such an attitude overlook the fact that the majority of the world shimmers in many shades of gray. You increasingly limit your horizon yourself and become mentally more inflexible and intolerant.
This is how you resolve the thinking error:
It always becomes problematic when a certain view is generalized into a dictate or dogma. Consciously change the perspective again and again in order to dissolve this thinking error. Accept that there can and must be other opinions besides your own - and that your counterpart can perhaps live quite well with his or her supposedly wrong view. Of course, there is also a portion of narcissism and perfectionism in this thinking trap. One way out is to accept that you don't always have to be the smartest and that you don't have to prove anything to the world. In addition to the "either-or" attitude, there is often a "both/and" attitude.
Mistake 2: If-then attitude
An essential key to success is to set goals. Reaching self-chosen milestones motivates and makes us happy. We feel self-determined and at the same time know that we can achieve what we set out to do. People often link their goals to if-then conditions. For example: "If I had ... more money / more responsibility / more time ... I would be happier. Usually a fallacy. Because nothing actually happens: as soon as the desired situation arises, we are not automatically happier. Or at least only in the very short term. And the next if-then phase starts all over again.
This is how you solve the thinking error:
There's nothing wrong with setting high goals. But: It always goes higher, faster, further. Satisfaction doesn't come from endlessly chasing after things, but rather when you become aware of the path you've already taken - and are grateful for it. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude - especially for what you have achieved.
Mistake 3: Emotionalizing
Quite a few people think that what they feel corresponds to reality. This is not always true. It's true that emotions can't be explained away - they are reality.... But they are not THE reality. Emotions are deceptive and can also change again quickly. This in turn confuses our mind sometimes violently.
This is how you solve the thinking error:
Try to look at things more rationally. Your gut has an uneasy feeling? Then let your mind ask, "Why do I have this feeling? Are there legitimate reasons for it?" Rationalizing alone is also not the silver bullet - but it is a good cross-check: Only in the interplay of feeling and rationality do we trick this thinking error.
