Thoughts Are Not Facts
Public Health Announcement: THOUGHTS ARE NOT FACTS.
Stated so simply, this may seem like a "no brainer"... and, yet, we do not often engage with thoughts for what they are - mental activity. No...we typically engage with thoughts as if they are truth/fact - this is clear to anyone who has felt the chest tightness in conjunction with a thought about potential failure...the body is already responding to the failure despite it not happening yet.
This "thought as truth/fact" phenomenon is called "cognitive fusion". The practice of mindfulness helps to slow down and shift cognitive fusion through cognitive DEFUSION. When we take the time to practice NOTICING thoughts, we are creating some space for choice to continue to engage the thought or to let it go.
So - on this Mindful Monday...consider a brief practice of noticing thoughts as they come...and then allowing them to go. The below link is to a guided practice called, "Leaves on a Stream" - this will help guide noticing thoughts in the service of defusing oneself from them.