The Most Important Lesson I Have Learned

In all my years as a student turned counselor the most important lesson I learned is how to adapt my thought patterns. If one can learn to avoid or change those pesky negative and unhelpful thinking patterns, then their emotions and entire outlook on life will change for the better. I learned about this for the first time while pursuing my undergraduate degree in a class where we discussed and learned about the theories behind counseling techniques. This particular theory resonated with me in a way that has changed my life. The theory is called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

I pretty quickly began to use some of the techniques on myself, sometimes with the help of others in my life reminding me of my not so helpful thought patterns. This particular story involves my mom, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't mind if I shared it in my blog. She probably doesn't even remember the conversation, but, it certainly stuck with me. I was on the phone with her talking about the stress and worry that comes along with being a college student. I was telling her about one test in particular that I was really dreading and pretty certain I was going to fail and that would just be the worst. You see, I'm quite the perfectionist when it comes to school work or work in general. My mom asked me, "so will it be the end of the world if you failed that test?"

Right then and there it clicked with me and I was quickly reminded of the theory that I had just learned about. After I hung up the phone I thought about how it was just one test and that no, it really wouldn't be the end of the world if I were to fail. This helped my thinking to go from irrational to a much more rational outlook. I didn't fail the test, in fact, I did pretty well for an all essay exam! I have since learned a lot of the complexities of fully implementing this theory and I'm so glad that I continued on that path. I would encourage everyone to be aware of those negative thinking patterns that seem to spiral out of control and cause an immense amount of stress, depression, and anxiety in our lives. Seek out help in sorting all of this out, not everyone is lucky enough to have an informal counselor for a mom.