Worksheet: Challenging Negative Thoughts
By completing this worksheet, you can challenge your negative thinking patterns and replace them with more balanced and accurate thoughts, which can help improve your mood, reduce stress, and improve your overall well-being.
Step 1: Identify the Negative Thought
Write down a recent situation or event that triggered a negative thought. For example: “I received negative feedback on a project at work.”
Step 2: Identify the Automatic Negative Thought
Write down the negative thought that immediately came to mind in response to the situation. For example: “I’m a failure and I’ll never succeed.”
Step 3: Identify the Evidence for and Against the Negative Thought
List the evidence that supports the negative thought and the evidence that contradicts it.
For example:Evidence for the negative thought:
- I received negative feedback on the project.
- I’ve made mistakes in the past.
Evidence against the negative thought:
- I received positive feedback on other projects.
- I’ve learned from my mistakes and improved my skills.
Step 4: Generate Alternative, Balanced Thoughts
Using the evidence against the negative thought, generate one or more alternative, balanced thoughts that are more accurate and helpful. For example: “While I may have received negative feedback on this project, I have received positive feedback on others. I can use this feedback to learn and improve my skills.”
Step 5: Evaluate the New Thoughts
Evaluate the new thoughts and determine if they are more accurate and helpful than the original negative thought. For example: “This new thought is more balanced and accurate, and it helps me to focus on my strengths and opportunities for growth.”
Step 6: Practice and Reinforce New Thoughts
Practice thinking the new thoughts regularly and reinforce them by using positive self-talk and seeking feedback from others.
For example: “I will remind myself of my strengths and opportunities for growth regularly and ask for feedback from my colleagues on my future projects.”