Growth Mindset Psychology: The Science of Self-Improvement

How to stop catastrophizing


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Catastrophizing is a type of cognitive distortion. It's a faulty and inaccurate way of thinking that involves imagining the worst possible outcome in a given situation.


Catastrophizing can hold people back in life, work, and relationships and we all do it in some way, and some of us do it a lot more than others.


Understanding the natural psychological processes behind catastrophizing can help us build awareness and learn to create a more balanced and productive view of our futures.



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  • Sam's newsletter on creativity - Explosive Thinking 
  • Watch the pod - YouTube - Growth Mindset
  • Twitter - @samjamharris
  • Instagram - @SamJam.zen

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    Chapters

    00:00 What is catastrophising

    03:00 Build awareness

    05:52 Magnifying and minimising

    07:15 The problem with imagined details

    08:58 The human tendency to invent stories

    12:01 Catastrophizing and being diagnosed with ADHD

    14:56 Balancing worst and best scenarios

    16:02 Social anxiety

    17:48 Write a journal

    19:10 Alex Hormozi selling gym subscriptions

    19:48 Want and don't want chair

    22:08 4 step method for mitigating catastrophization

    22:13 Step 1 - Awareness 

    23:20 Step 2 - Challenging the thought

    24:03 Step 3 - Imagine the best

    24:34 Step 4 - Accept uncertainty

    26:19 Catastrophizing is the opposite of Growth mindset

    26:40 Therapy & CBT

    29:20 Episode Summary

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