I’ve been doing some research into A.N.T.s.
Nope, not the 6 legged variety but rather Automatic Negative Thoughts. It’s a way of describing the anxiety that some folks feel. Turns out there’s a number of types of A.N.T.s.
One is ‘awfulizing’ – where you automatically believe the worst case scenario. My partner got pulled over by the police (for a burned out headlight) and my kid, who was riding in the van with him, thought they were going to jail. That’s an ‘awfulizing’ A.N.T.
Another type of A.N.T. is ‘thinking with your feeligns’, where you believe your negative feelings without ever questioning them. From a Life Lenses™ perspective I was drawn to this one. It juxtaposes the Head Life Lens™ and Heart Life Lens™.
On a bad day, when a Heart Life Lens™’ radar has run amok and intuition can’t be trusted, it may help to have a more Head Life Lens™, or analytical approach. Sometimes feelings do lie (gasp! Yes, it’s true). Sometimes they’re deeply held even though there’s no evidence.
Here’s a tip Heart Life Lenses™ – if you’re having a particularly bad day, experiencing particularly strong, negative emotions, ask yourself (though it may sound foreign to your ears) – what evidence is there for that belief?
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Information about A.N.T.s is from Daniel Amen’s Mind Coach book.
