To understand how to test your thoughts with an experiment, see Taylor’s example:
“I could not concentrate on my study.”
Here is an example of the first experiment Taylor did.
| 1) My thought (be as specific as possible, and rate how strong your thoughts and feelings are from 0 to 10): |
| If I hand an assignment in, I will fail because of my bad concentration (9/10). I will feel like a failure all day long, every day for a week (8/10). |
| 2) Experiment: Think of an experiment to test out the thought. |
| Hand one assignment in that I had been putting off submitting. |
| 3) Results: |
| When I submitted the assignment, I felt relieved. I passed even though my mark was not as high as usual, I will not have to repeat the class now. |
| 4) What I've learned: |
|
I didn’t fail. My feelings of being a failure were lower than if I had not submitted. |
| 5) My new thought (rate how strong your new thoughts and feelings are from 0 to 10): |
| If I hand in my assignments, I will not fail due to my concentration (8/10). I will feel like less of a failure if I submit (9/10). |
After the experiment, Taylor felt better. It’s important to try lots of experiments so we can reinforce new ways of thinking.
46%