COGNITIVE DISTORTION DETECTOR |
Fortune Telling |
What it is: Fortune telling is when your brain becomes a pessimistic psychic, predicting doom with absolute certainty. You don't just worry something might go wrong, you know it will. The job interview will be a disaster. Your friend will reject your invitation. The doctor will deliver bad news. You've written the ending before the story even unfolds, and it's always tragic. |
What it sounds like: "I know I'm going to bomb this presentation." "There's no point applying, they'll never pick me." "I can already tell this relationship won't work out." "I just have a feeling something terrible is going to happen." |
Why it's a trap: Fortune-telling tricks you into living through negative experiences twice. Once in your imagination, and again if they actually happen (which they often don't). You waste emotional energy on fictional disasters while real opportunities pass you by. |
Worse, this distortion can become self-fulfilling. When you're convinced you'll fail, you might not prepare properly or show up fully, actually increasing the chances of a poor outcome. |
We're terrible at predicting the future, yet we torture ourselves based on assumptions our anxious minds create. You're essentially letting fear write your life story before you've had a chance to live it. |
Try this instead: Catch yourself mid-prediction and ask: "Am I stating a fact or making an assumption?" Then challenge the fortune-telling with curiosity instead of certainty: |
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Remember: Your intuition about danger isn't the same as psychic powers about the future. |
Today's Thought Tweak |
Original thought: "I know they're going to reject my idea in tomorrow's meeting." |
Upgrade: "I don't know how they'll respond to my idea, but I've prepared well and I'll handle whatever feedback comes my way." |
The shift moves you from fictional suffering to present-moment action - where your actual power lives. |
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