Isn't this a little late in the game? We've had dozens of opportunities to create Response Cards for 26 days now; why do we need to learn how to create them now?
Quite honestly, I think this step sounds like a lot of needless busy work. Partly it's because I've found the Response Cards suggested throughout the book to be helpful and not lacking in any way. And partly it's because I haven't been having any sabotaging thoughts, so the direction to ask myself the 7 questions about my sabotaging thoughts is logically impossible to complete.
I'm feeling very unmotivated to complete this step, but I worry that slacking off now will mean I'll continue to slack off until I'm not working the Beck Diet Solution any more, and I lose all my motivation for dieting in general, and I gain back all the weight, plus extra. That worry sounds like Negative Fortune Telling, but it holds a kernel of possibility. I have to keep reminding myself that although I'm doing incredibly well on my diet so far, there's no guarantee that's a permanent condition. I must study my math textbook!
It would seem I couldn't complete this step without sabotaging thoughts to work from, but instead I'm going to use the example sabotaging thoughts that illustrate the thinking mistakes. I have had those sabotaging thoughts in the past, so the exercise isn't completely empty.
The idea is to take a sabotaging thought, such as Either I'm 100% successful or I'm a failure and may as well give up dieting, and counter it with the seven questions of the cleverly titled Seven Question Technique:
- What kind of thinking error could I be making?
This is kind of a pointless question since I'm drawing the example sabotaging thought from the list of thinking mistakes from yesterday, but anyway. If I'm thinking, Either I'm 100% successful or I'm a failure and may as well give up dieting, that's an All or Nothing thinking error. - What evidence is there that this thought might not be true?
I am rarely 100% successful or a failure at anything, I'm usually somewhere in between. And in other areas of my life I don't give up just because I'm not doing as well as I might; often that makes me work harder to be more successful. - Is there an alternative explanation or another way of viewing this?
My current progress, whether bad or good, is not indicative of how my progress will always be. If I'm doing well, I need to keep up the good work to continue doing well. If I'm not doing well, I need to try harder to do better. - What is the most realistic outcome of this situation?
I will not give up when I realize I don't have to be perfect. - What is the effect of my believing this thought and what could be the effect of changing my thinking?
If I believe I have to be perfect I will make myself feel like a failure. If I believe I'm a failure and may as well give up dieting, I will give up, I will be fat and unhappy, and I will likely get fatter and unhappier.
If I change my thinking, I will realize I am not perfect, nor do I have to be perfect. I just need to be better, by sticking with my diet. - What would I tell a friend if she were in this situation and had this thought?
Nobody's perfect; all you have to do is try. You may not make it there quickly, but you won't make it at all if you quit. - What should I do now?
Remind myself that I cannot be perfect, but I can be better, I just have to stick with it. Create a Response Card to serve as a reminder.
Hm, maybe this exercise isn't completely pointless. I felt as if the Response Cards I already have are complete in handling my problems, but one to directly caution myself about my demoralizing perfectionist tendencies would be a good idea. So now I'll work on the remaining example sabotaging thoughts that could have been written by the old me, and see if any new Response Cards come out of it.
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