The Three-Column Technique for Untwisting Our Thinking: Worksheet

If you’ve become as intrigued by cognitive distortions (or more simply put, “thinking errors”) as I have lately (see “Our Thoughts Create Our Experience“), these worksheets will serve you well …

The most common “thinking error” that I see/hear is that people don’t have time for something … I get it, we’re busy, but let’s take a minute to “get real” and think about how you might be WASTING at least some of your time … social media, anyone? Netflix? YouTube?

The My Time Tracker: Worksheet will give you a better idea of how you CURRENTLY spend (or waste) your time. In the handouts provided below, I walk you through a few examples of “untwisting our thinking” (with special attention to cognitive distortions about time).

Here’s Dr. Burns’ Three-Column Technique for Untwisting Our Thinking Worksheet in PDF format (just download, print, and complete) …

Something to keep in mind … sometimes our limiting beliefs are actually more than one “distortion” (for example, our limiting belief may be “all or nothing thinking” AND “disqualifying the positive”) … it’s a good idea to recognize and work through them all …

I learned about this technique from Dr. Burn’s book, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. It’s a long read, but worth the investment of your time, especially if you struggle with anxiety or negative (or depressive) thinking patterns.

Of course, I think you should also check out some of my “older” work too about limiting beliefs … I wrote this piece in late 2020, and had the privilege of recording this interview with limiting beliefs “guru,” Jill Ethier as well.

Working through our limiting beliefs is an ESSENTIAL (continuous) step on the journey to a life well lived. The work I’ve done has changed my life!