How to Change Your Thinking and Build a Healthier Mindset

We all experience negative thoughts. The trick isn’t to just push these thoughts away but to learn how to change your thinking at a deeper level. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) offers practical strategies to help you reshape your thought patterns, leading to improved emotional and mental well-being. By understanding how to identify and challenge your automatic thoughts, you can change your thinking, break free from negativity, and develop a more balanced perspective on life.

How to Change Your Thinking with CBT

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a widely used psychological treatment designed to help you identify and learn how to change your thinking, behavior, and emotional responses. One of the primary goals of CBT is to teach individuals how to change their thinking by recognizing distorted or irrational thoughts that fuel negative emotions and behaviors.

Unlike other forms of therapy that may delve into past experiences, CBT focuses on the present moment—how your thoughts influence your current feelings and actions. By learning how to change your thinking patterns, you can improve your ability to cope with life’s challenges, reduce stress, and boost overall mental health. CBT works by breaking down the cognitive processes that lead to negative thought cycles and replacing them with healthier, more adaptive ways of thinking.

What Are Automatic Thoughts?

Automatic thoughts are the instantaneous, involuntary thoughts that pop into your mind in response to a situation. These thoughts often occur without you even being aware of them. For example, if someone cuts you off in traffic, your automatic thought might be, “That person is rude” or “They’re trying to ruin my day.” While some automatic thoughts can be neutral or positive, many tend to be negative, irrational, and distorted.

These automatic thoughts are deeply ingrained and shaped by our past experiences, beliefs, and emotional states. Over time, they become habitual, creating a filter through which we interpret the world. Understanding how to change your thinking begins with becoming aware of these automatic thoughts and recognizing when they’re impacting your emotions and behavior.

Nine Types of ANTs

Dr. Daniel Amen introduced the concept of “ANTs” (Automatic Negative Thoughts) in the 1990s, inspired by a day when he faced challenges at work and then discovered an ant infestation in his kitchen. This experience led him to realize how negative, automatic thoughts—like the ants—can take over our minds and disrupt our lives. 

Dr. Amen identified nine distinct types of ANTs, each of which represents a different cognitive distortion. 

1. “Always” Thinking: Believing that something will always go wrong or never change. Example: “I always fail at presentations.”
2. Focusing on the Negative: Dwelling only on the bad aspects of a situation and ignoring the positives. Example: “That meeting was a disaster, even though I did well on the project.”
3. Fortune Telling: Predicting negative outcomes without any evidence. Example: “I just know I’m going to fail this exam.”
4. Mind Reading: Assuming you know what others are thinking, usually in a negative light. Example: “She probably thinks I’m boring.”
5. Thinking with Your Feelings: Believing that emotions are facts, and letting feelings drive your thoughts. Example: “I feel anxious, so this must be a bad situation.”
6. Guilt Beatings: Excessively blaming yourself or feeling responsible for things that aren’t entirely your fault. Example: “I should have known better; this is all my fault.”
7. Labeling: Using negative labels to define yourself or others. Example: “I’m such a failure.”
8. Personalization: Taking responsibility for things outside of your control. Example: “It’s my fault that the project didn’t go well.”
9. Catastrophizing: Viewing a situation as far worse than it really is. Example: “If I mess this up, I’ll never be able to recover.”

How Automatic Thoughts Affect You Negatively

Automatic thoughts, especially when negative or irrational, can have a profound impact on your mental and emotional state. They often lead to negative emotions such as anxiety, anger, guilt, and sadness. For instance, if you frequently think, “I always mess things up,” it can lead to feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt. These negative thoughts shape your perception of yourself and the world around you, influencing how you respond to situations.

Furthermore, negative automatic thoughts can contribute to unhelpful behavior patterns. If you’re convinced you’ll fail at something before you even try, you may avoid taking action altogether, further reinforcing your negative belief. Over time, these patterns can lead to increased stress, lower self-esteem, and difficulty managing everyday challenges. It is crucial to learn how to change your thinking so these thoughts do not take over your life.

Where Do Automatic Thoughts Come From?

Automatic thoughts often have roots in earlier life experiences, beliefs, and values. They may stem from past trauma, negative experiences, or societal messages. For example, if you were criticized frequently as a child, you may develop automatic thoughts that you’re not good enough or that you’ll be judged negatively by others. These early life experiences shape how you interpret the world and your sense of self-worth.

Other factors, such as personality traits, current stress levels, and even cultural influences, can also contribute to the formation of automatic thoughts. In many cases, these thoughts are not based on objective reality but are distorted or exaggerated versions of the truth. Learning how to change your thinking involves uncovering these distortions and replacing them with more accurate and balanced thoughts.

How CBT Challenges Automatic Thoughts

CBT teaches individuals how to challenge and reframe their automatic thoughts. The process begins with recognizing when these negative thoughts arise. Once you become aware of your automatic thoughts, you can use specific techniques to assess their validity and identify any cognitive distortions. Cognitive distortions are patterns of thinking that consistently reinforce negative beliefs about yourself, others, and the world.

For example, you might notice that you tend to catastrophize—assuming the worst-case scenario will always happen. When you identify this distortion, you can begin to ask yourself questions like: “Is there evidence to support this thought? Could there be another explanation? What’s the most realistic outcome?” Through this process, you begin to challenge the automatic thought and replace it with a more realistic, balanced perspective.

Intermediate Beliefs: The Bridge Between Thoughts and Actions

Intermediate beliefs are the general rules, assumptions, and attitudes you hold about yourself, others, and the world. These beliefs are more enduring than automatic thoughts and often guide how you interpret situations. For example, an intermediate belief might be, “If I don’t succeed, I’m worthless,” which can influence your automatic thoughts and behaviors.

Intermediate beliefs act as a bridge between your automatic thoughts and your core beliefs. While automatic thoughts are specific and momentary, intermediate beliefs are broader and can apply to multiple situations. When you learn how to change your thinking, part of the process involves identifying these intermediate beliefs and challenging them as well.

Core Beliefs: The Deepest Layer of Thought Patterns

Core beliefs are the most fundamental beliefs you hold about yourself, others, and the world. These beliefs are typically formed early in life and can be deeply ingrained. Examples of core beliefs include: “I am unlovable,” “People can’t be trusted,” or “The world is a dangerous place.” Core beliefs influence both your intermediate beliefs and your automatic thoughts, making them a key target when learning how to change your thinking.

In CBT, addressing core beliefs involves exploring their origins and examining how they shape your current thoughts and behaviors. Challenging these beliefs can be difficult, as they are often deeply tied to your sense of identity. However, by gradually questioning and modifying these core beliefs, you can develop a healthier, more realistic view of yourself and the world.

Techniques for How to Change Your Thinking

There are several CBT techniques designed to teach you how to change your thinking. Some of the most common techniques include:

1. Thought Record: This involves writing down your automatic thoughts, identifying any cognitive distortions, and then challenging those thoughts with evidence and alternative perspectives.
2. Cognitive Restructuring: This technique helps you reframe negative thoughts by examining their validity and replacing them with more balanced and realistic thoughts.
3. Behavioral Experiments: These experiments allow you to test the accuracy of your thoughts by engaging in real-life situations. For example, if you believe you’ll fail at a presentation, you might experiment by practicing and seeing if the outcome is truly as bad as you expected.
4. Graded Exposure: If your automatic thoughts are related to anxiety or fear, graded exposure helps you gradually face the feared situation in a controlled way to reduce anxiety over time.

By using these techniques, you can start to reprogram your brain to learn how to change your thinking, replacing negative automatic thoughts with healthier, more positive alternatives.

How to Change Your Thinking Examples

Let’s look at a couple of examples to see how CBT can teach you how to change your thinking:

Example 1: Sarah has the automatic thought, “I’ll never be successful in my career.” This thought makes her feel defeated and unmotivated. Using CBT, she learns to identify this automatic thought and recognizes it as a form of catastrophizing. She challenges the thought by looking at her past successes and realizing that success is a gradual process, not an all-or-nothing outcome. With this new perspective, Sarah feels more empowered to take the next steps in her career.

Example 2: John struggles with the belief that “People don’t like me.” This core belief stems from childhood experiences of feeling neglected. Through CBT, John learns to recognize how this belief influences his automatic thoughts (e.g., assuming people are avoiding him) and challenges it by gathering evidence of positive social interactions. Over time, John’s belief in his social worth improves, and his automatic thoughts become more positive.

Take Control of Your Thinking

Learning how to change your thinking isn’t an overnight process, but with patience and practice, it’s possible to reshape your mindset and improve your emotional well-being. By using CBT techniques to challenge automatic thoughts, uncover intermediate and core beliefs, and replace negative patterns with healthier ones, you can build a more balanced perspective on life.

Ready to Learn How to Change Your Thinking? Start Today!

If you’re ready to take control of your thoughts and transform your mindset, COPE Psychological Center is here to help you learn how to change your thinking. Our team of experts can guide you through the process of using CBT to address negative thinking patterns and improve your mental health. Don’t let automatic thoughts hold you back. Learn how to change your thinking today and take the first step toward a healthier, happier you.