Reframe Automatic Negative Thought Patterns —June 15

SAGe (Self-Actualized Genius)—Learn More

June 15, 2025

Sunday SAGe Volume 39: Reframe Automatic Negative Thought Patterns

Here is this week’s installment of Sunday SAGe, an email communication that shares wellness inspiration from The Wellness Ethic to help people thrive during the coming week (and beyond!).

This week, our focus is on reframing automatic negative thought patterns.

Reframe Automatic Negative Thought Patterns

An excerpt from The Wellness Ethic:

Based on past experiences, you may feel negative about something without much thought. This can be helpful in dicey situations where every second counts. For example, if you were a caveman moseying about with another caveman and a saber-toothed tiger jumped out from the brush, you wouldn’t want to complete a detailed root cause analysis to better understand the tiger’s intentions. There’s no time! Your life is at risk! You must quickly trip the other caveman, offer your sincere apology to said caveman, and then flee for your life!

But you want to be careful not to assign negativity to situations that don’t need to be negative. This tendency, called automatic negative thought patterns (ANTs), can lead to unhappiness and poor decisions.

What It Means

Some common ANTs are:

• All-or-Nothing Thinking: You see a situation in black-and-white terms with no middle ground. Example: If you make a mistake, you view yourself as a complete failure who can’t do anything right.

• Magnification and Minimization: You blow things out of proportion. Examples: You think a setback is the world’s end (magnification), or your achievement doesn’t matter (minimization).

• Overgeneralization: You draw broad conclusions from a single event. Example: You feel like you are not smart after failing a test.

• Jumping to Conclusions: You immediately think the worst about a situation without objectively considering the facts. Examples: You think a hiring manager will reject you (mind reading), or you expect that a future event will turn out negatively (fortune-telling).

To counter automatic negative thought patterns, focus on developing the habit of catching yourself in the moment when you’re feeling negative. Then, objectively look at the truth of your situation and choose a positive, reality-based frame.

Your Call to Action

Do you have a tendency to assume the worse in a given situation? Is that happening to you right now in any aspect of your life? Think about where automatic negative thought patterns have infiltrated your mind and then reframe those thoughts with a positive, reality-based perspective. You’ll lift your spirits.

The more you focus on positivity, the more positive your life will be!

Have a positive week!