The ABCs of Stinkin’ Thinkin’

• June 28, 2018

Many of us who run businesses are Type A personalities.  We are go-getters who make things happen.  We don’t sit on the sidelines; we are in the game.  However, Type A personalities have a tendency to catastrophize.  Things will crumble and go to pieces if I do not “make this deal happen.”  Often times, this is not true and living in such a manner results in chronic feelings of anxiety and depression.  In the end, feeling anxious and depressed is more crippling to our businesses and our relationships with our team than a deal every now and then.

Thinking has a pattern.  We witness an (A)ctivating event (i.e. a report is due), and we have a (B)elief (“My business will be destroyed if this report is not completed.”).  Finally we have the (C)onsequences which are our emotions (i.e. feeling anxious) and our behaviors (i.e. yelling at our team).  This ABC pattern if done regularly can be troublesome to our health and our ability to garner good relations with others.

What can we do?  One of the easiest things to do is change our Belief by saying something more realistic such as, “It would be best if I completed this task but if it does not work out this time, there will be many more opportunities.”  Other things that can be done would be to change your behavior.  When you start having a negative belief that you believe will lead to a negative Consequence, take a timeout and walk away.  Find something to drink and talk to a trusted colleague who can give you a better perspective.

Changing your thoughts and behaviors can be as simple as ABC!