Reflection 5: Recognizing My Thinking Traps

What thinking traps are common for you? Give an example of how these traps have affected you.

When I was reading thinking traps, I realized that I tend to jump to conclusions. Sometimes I draw negative conclusions, such as assuming a website doesn't work after trying it only once. The deeper reason behind this may be laziness and impatience. For example, when I was a graduate student, I wrote an academic article and submitted it for publication. The journal rejected it. This is actually common, since it usually takes multiple attempts to get an article published. However, I immediately concluded that I wasn't capable of publishing articles. As a result, I never revised the article or submitted it to another journal. I even felt relieved because I didn't have to do extra work. Looking back, I realize that my conclusion that I'm not good at writing academic articles was just an excuse to avoid putting in more effort. I accepted failure easily because I didn't want to try again. Although this mindset helps reduce my anxiety and is temporarily good my mental health, it also limits my growth. In the future, I hope to have more control over my life and career. I want to avoid jumping to conclusions and stop accepting unsatisfactory results so easily.

In addition, I tend to magnify the importance of things. For example, when I had to prepare a presentation for a class assignment, I wrote a long script for my part. The topic was unfamiliar, the material came from newly downloaded resources, and I had to present it in my second language. I tried to memorize the script fluently, but it was difficult to deliver the speech without stuttering. I felt extremely stressed and spent an entire day practicing. On the day of the presentation, I realized that I had overestimated the importance of the assignment. I could have prepared a less professional speech or not recited it so fluently. From this experience, I learned that when I feel stressed, I can talk to others and ask for their opinions. I might discover that I've exaggerated the situation.