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Seeing Alternate Viewpoints
Scenario 1
You are shopping at the grocery store and your cell phone rings. You sister is on the line and wants you to know that she is upset because you spoke rudely to her during dinner at your house last night. You say that you will call her back when you get home. Just then you notice your neighbor coming down the aisle with a cart full of groceries. She waves at you saying she is in a hurry and can’t stop to chat right now.
- If you were in this situation, what would some of your thoughts be?
- This response will be reviewed and graded after submission.
Seeing Alternate View Points
Scenario 2
You are shopping at the grocery store and your cell phone rings. Your sister is on the line and wants you to know that she’s in a good mood because she really enjoyed herself during dinner at your house last night. You say that you will call her back when you get home. Just then you notice your neighbor coming down the aisle with a cart full of groceries. She waves at you saying she is in a hurry and can’t stop to chat right now.
Reflection
- If you were in this situation, what would some of your thoughts be?
- This response will be reviewed and graded after submission.
Look above at your thoughts on each scenario. As you review your thoughts in response to scenarios 1 and 2, what do you notice? Is there anything that stands out or surprises you?
Alternate Viewpoints in an MBCT Group
You just practiced with a difficult situation in one’s personal life. These types of situations also come up in a work setting. Let’s join the group as they’re discussing a similar situation that occurred in a work setting. As you watch each clip, take a moment to reflect on what you hear. What did watching the experience of group members help you learn about your own experience?
Click on the questions to hear from each group member.
What this exercise shows us is that when you interpret someone else’s actions, there are a number of influences at play. You have already seen in the walking down the street exercises (in session 2) that what you think can influence how you feel, and here, we have the opposite situation. What you think can be determined by those moods that are present when thinking is taking place.
We certainly heard from group members that the same response from a friend who was in a hurry led to different thoughts depending on whether they had first been criticized or praised. People don’t usually stop themselves and ask if their moods led to them to think in a certain way. But that is exactly what happened here. Sometimes your thoughts can keep you from seeing these other kinds of explanations, and that’s why it can be helpful to treat your thoughts as interpretations and not as facts. If your thoughts are getting the better of you, there are a number of things you can do as a first step.