Did you ever have a class in school, or in adulthood, on how to think?

I never did. And I wish I had, because our minds can play some very convincing tricks on us.

Most of us grow up learning what to think, like facts, formulas, dates, but almost no one teaches us how to notice when our thoughts are lying to us. So we fall into the trap of believing every thought that pops into our head, simply because… that’s what we think.

What Distorted Thinking Sounds Like

• “If I can’t do it perfectly, there’s no point in trying.”
• “Everyone else is handling life better than I am.”
• “If something went wrong once, it will probably go wrong again.”

On a stressful day, those can feel like solid truths. But they’re actually examples of what psychologists call cognitive distortions. I like to call them thinking traps.

They’re predictable thought patterns that crank up anxiety, self-doubt, procrastination, and overthinking.

Thinking Traps Feel True, but They’re Not

Here’s the tricky part: when you’re inside a thinking trap, it feels true, unless you’re in the know.

The first order of operations is to spot the trap.

I’ve listed the 10 most common thinking traps in this mini-guide.

Once you can name the pattern, “Oh, that’s all-or-nothing thinking,” or “This is my catastrophizing voice talking,” you can choose a different response.

Instead of getting pulled into the spiral, you can pause, zoom out, and ask:

What else could be true here?

Three Common Traps

In my work with bright, self-aware people, these three show up again and again:

1) All-or-nothing thinking

This thinking trap says: If it’s not perfect, it feels like a failure.

Perfectionism, anyone? 👋

This sounds like:
“If I can’t do it exactly right, I might as well not bother.”

A better question:

What’s one tiny, imperfect step that still moves me forward?

2) Mind-reading

This thinking trap assumes you know what other people think of you, without actual evidence.

This sounds like:
“They haven’t texted back; they must be annoyed with me.”

A better question:

What are three other explanations that could also be true? (ie they’re checking on dates, they lost their phone, they missed your text coming in.)

3) Catastrophizing

This thinking trap fast-forwards straight to the worst-case scenario.

This sounds like:

“If something went wrong once, it will probably go wrong again.”
Or: “It’s 11pm and my brain is replaying one small thing like it’s a disaster.”

A better question:

What’s the most likely outcome—and if it is hard, what support would I have?

Free Guide

I’ve gathered the most common thinking traps in this mini-guide. Spotting and working through these thought patterns is life-changing for a lot of people. I’ll prompt you with questions to support your growing awareness.

Get it here:
10 Thinking Traps That Intensify Stress and Overthinking

I hope you find the mini-guide useful!