>>16973880
I'm pretty much guilty of all the same. It's really tough to stop since we get so used to doing it.

There was a book I was reading on this, if you want it, I'll fetch the name. Dirt cheap on Amazon. Basically I believe it breaks down the steps like this.

1. Recognize you're distorting reality. Specifically, identify the distortion you're using.

2. Allow yourself to recognize that this is wrong, and really look at the situation.

3. Understand that even if the situation is bad, it's temporary, and you have to move on from it.

>>16973920
It is tough, especially the third on this list: dwelling on the negatives. I keep thinking about really bad projects I've worked on and what I should have done better. I'm a million times better now, but it still haunts me. How do I do that last part "move on from it"

>>16974284
Don't allow yourself to dwell. Open and close that chapter.

You did bad projects? Well they're done. What did you learn from them? And how will that help you in the future? Once that's answered, there's no use in revisiting what's past you unless it's truly, truly necessary.

You're a radical right-winger from /pol/, aren't you? I'm glad you've finally figured out what you're doing wrong. I wish you luck in thinking like a normal person.

>>16974329
How do I not dwell? It affects my mood when I'm working and when I'm trying to sleep.

>>16973880
I've never understood some of these points.
>Emotional reasoning
I have solid evidence suggesting that I am I an idiot which makes me feel like an idiot which makes me tell myself I am an idiot. I take an objective look at my life and compare the salient points against people with successful lives and can firmly conclude that I am a loser thus making me feel like a loser thus me telling myself that I am a loser.

>Personalization or blame
When it's my fault then why shouldn't I think it's my fault? That's how responsibility works.

>>16974555
Emotional reasoning is the equivalent of a fallacy. Just because one feels one way doesn't makes it true. It could be true, but the reasoning is fallacious.

For personalization, I think it's related to the first point of All-or-nothing. It'd be like 12 people under you slacking off, but you only blame yourself for not motivating them better. Or an instructor who blames himself for not teaching better when the students chose not to do the reading.

The moving on comes from recognizing that the thoughts are inherently flawed and incorrect. Once you recognize that, the idea is that you will reject the negative thought because it's just incorrect, and you'll dismiss it, thus moving on. When you identify an untrue thought, think of something to tell yourself that puts the lie to the negative thought. So a positive statement that is 1) entirely true and 2) points out the lie in the negative thought. Just start by noticing the thoughts, and then begin to refute them as they come up. When you get overwhelming negative emotions, say "hey, this is coming from a cognitive distortion, let's figure out what it is" and think about what it is, then refute it with a positive statement.

>>16974668
This sounds good. I'll try it.

>>16974337
probably not true, but it makes sense