Let’s discuss how we can switch negative thoughts to positive thoughts using the ABC formula.
Why would we want our teenagers to learn this? It’s because optimistic teenagers can bounce back from failures or mistakes fast. When they recover fast from mistakes, they can plan and strategise their next action, instead of drowning in embarrassment, anger or sadness – which is not very productive.
Optimistic Teens Do Not Break Down When Facing Problems
Optimistic teenagers can handle problems calmly because they don’t think that every failure or mistake is a disaster. So if a positive teenager fails a Maths test for the second time in a row, he or she will change studying methods, choose to be more active in class, form a study group and so on.
On the other hand, a negative teenager will start beating himself up by thinking, ‘I’m a failure. I’m a loser. I can do nothing right. I’m useless…’ and so on.
This negative attitude will most probably drag and in the end, the negative teenager is likely to do nothing to change habits, strategies or studying methods. That’s because he or she believes he or she is born a failure and nothing he or she does will help.
What happens after that? With this mindset and attitude, the teen is likely to keep failing test after test, exam after exam.
How to Use the ABC Formula to Switch to a More Empowering Mindset
In short, a positive student believes that his or her methods and habits need to improve, whereas a negative student believes that he or she is the problem – and is helpless about it. In some cases, a negative teen believes that the teachers, parents, tutor, friends (and basically everyone else except himself or herself) cause the failure. In other words, a victim mentality.
So in the ABC formula, the ‘B’ – which stands for ‘Belief’ – needs to change.
A stands for Activating event (in the above example: failing a Maths test twice in a row)
B stands for Belief (in the above scenario: A negative teen believing that he is a ‘loser’ and is ‘helpless’ about it)
C stands for Consequence: (in the negative teen scenario: He or she will keep failing Math as the teen chooses not to change any studying habits)
For an optimistic student, the ABC acronym looks like this:
A stands for Activating event (in the above example: failing a Maths test twice in a row)
B stands for Belief (in the above example: A positive teen believing that he or she needs to change studying habits, be more proactive in class and spend more time revising Math)
C stands for Consequence: (the positive teen will feel more in control of his or her life and more empowered to face problems head-on. Changing strategies = a change in results = possibly a pass in the next Maths test)
In conclusion…
That’s how we can change our thoughts from negative to more positive using the ABC formula. We have to change our beliefs about a particular event or incident.
Our methods, habits or strategies might be causing the ‘problem’. So we change these and keep tweaking until we get the results we want.
I hope this sharing helps you somehow. Please share this post with your friends if you find it helpful!
Have a good week!