It's about progress, not just completion.

In Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy there’s a concept called cognitive distortions.

A cognitive distortion is when a person has the tendency to think in a way that is unhealthy, unrealistic or particularly negative.

Some examples of cognitive distortions are:

Catastrophizing: Making one event out to be the end of the world.

Personalization: Taking on blame for external circumstances that are out of one’s control

“Shoulds”: Using your own set of rules of what should or should not be and assuming these are objective.

For the sake of this conversation, I want to focus on the cognitive distortion of “All or Nothing”.

All or Nothing is when a person thinks all the way on one of the spectrum or the other, but there’s no in-between.

For example, because I didn’t get a perfect performance evaluation at work, I’m a terrible employee.

It’s easy to forget that there’s a middle ground or a “gray” area where things may not be as perfect as you’d like but they are far from failure.

When it comes to life, it’s important to keep in mind that we don’t need to only acknowledge when our goals are completed; we can and should give ourselves acknowledgment and props when we take a step in the right direction.

Do not underestimate the value of progress!

If you find that you’re giving yourself too hard of a time about where you’re standing in life, therapy can help! Reach out to Philadelphia therapist, Noam Dinovitz at 484-278-1230 or dinovitzcounseling@gmail.com