Psychologists at Queens University in Kingston, Canada conducted a study that suggests on average people have more than 6,000 thoughts a day. How many thoughts are you aware of on a typical day? Most of us don’t even pay attention to them. They run automatically and unconsciously. It’s as if we are in the passenger seat, being driven by our thoughts and feelings without giving them a direction as to where we want to go. Have you ever said to yourself, “why does this keep happening to me?”, “I feel like I’m living the same day over and over.”, or “I have these goals and dreams I want to accomplish, but I just can’t seem to get there.” What may be happening is you’re in a thought loop (thinking the same types of thoughts) that keeps creating these same unwanted results or outcomes over and over.

Becoming aware of your thoughts can help put you in the driver’s seat so you can choose which direction you want your life to go.  It helps you respond to situations rather than react to situations, offers greater self-awareness, and can help you break free of limiting thoughts and beliefs that may be holding you back from reaching your goals.

I found a self-coaching tool that has helped not only me but many of my clients and friends. Brooke Castillo created this tool called The Model (CTFAR). This method consists of 5 components.  A CIRCUMSTANCE, event, or subject arises. We have THOUGHTS about it. A thought will elicit a FEELING within us.  Different types of feelings we are having will compel us to different types of ACTIONS (or inaction). The action (or inaction) we take leads to a RESULT.

CIRCUMSTANCES

↓ trigger

THOUGHTS

↓ produce

FEELINGS

↓ generate

ACTIONS

↓cause

RESULTS.

Here’s what The Model looks like:

C = Circumstance (always neutral or factual)

T = Thoughts (a sentence in our mind about the circumstance)

F = Feelings (caused by thoughts we are thinking about the circumstance)

A = Action (initiated by what we are feeling. Mental/physical and can also be inaction)

R = Result (outcome of our action/inaction we took)

Plug one thought and one feeling at a time into The Model you are working on.  In the action line, plug in all the actions you are taking. (Sometimes worrying or fretting is an action – that is what is meant by mental action). If we don’t like our results, we can change our thoughts and feelings to get the results we want.  (In most cases, it is not the circumstance that causes the result but our thoughts and feelings about the circumstance that creates the result).

Here is an example:

My unintentional model

C = Circumstance – Paper to write for the Oregon Natural Market newsletter.

T = Thought – It’s not going to be any good.

F = Feeling – defeated

A = Action – Binge watch TV, play on social media, get lost on google research, and read.

R = Result -No paper written

With this awareness, I now see the thoughts and feelings that are getting me a result that I do not want. I can now ask myself. “What thought or feeling would get me the result of actually writing this paper?”

Here’s my intentional model.

C = Circumstance – Paper to write for the Oregon Natural Market newsletter.

T = Thought – if it helps just one person, it will be worth it.

F = Feeling – Hopeful.

A = Action – Start writing notes about it and brainstorming ideas on paper on how to write it and what to write about.

R = Result -Paper is written.

Here are some more examples of Circumstances:

C – He/She said, “I don’t want to do that” (make sure it is word for word if you use this one)

C – Husband snoring

C – $50 in a bank account

C – my workload

C – 20 things on my to-do list

C – I weigh 135lbs

C – my dogs barking at the neighbors

 

I like to do a thought dump or thought download on whatever the topic or circumstance is.  This is simply writing down all my thoughts that come up about it. This activity alone can be enough to make shifts.  Often, I am startled by some of the thoughts that are revealed.  I had no idea they were floating in my mind, and I questioned where that thought even came from. Remember if you run a model, only plug in one thought per model. While The Model (CTFAR) may not help with every situation, it is a handy tool to utilize to get your thoughts moving in directions that are beneficial to creating a life of your choosing.

I invite you to play with this tool and try it out yourself.  See if it helps with any problems or issues you are dealing with at the moment.  Get in the driver’s seat of your mind and go where you choose to go.

“Know thyself, for once we know ourselves, we may learn how to care for ourselves” -Socrates

 

Timmie Jackson

AFPA Certified, TA Certified

Holistic Health Coach, Life Coach, Master Mindset Coach