The presentation went well. For two days after, he couldn't stop replaying the four seconds when he lost his train of thought.

His mind decided those four seconds were the truth about the whole thing, not the standing ovation. The four seconds.

That's overvaluing and overidentifying with your thoughts, which is playing-it-safe behavior #7.

In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), we call it cognitive fusion, and research shows that the harder you try to push the thought away, the louder it comes back.

The skill isn't changing the thought. It's changing your relationship to it.

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STOP LETTING ANXIETY MAKE YOUR DECISIONS

WHO AM I?

My name is Patricia E. Zurita Ona, but my clients call me Dr. Z.

I’m a psychologist, a passionate behaviorist, and a person that loves to make behavioral science accessible for day-to-day life. I specialize in Acceptance and Commitment skills (ACT), a form of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT).

I have significant experience – over 18 years – working with individuals dealing with anxiety-based struggles such as perfectionism, procrastination, chronic indecision, phobias, OCD, panic, worry, and any other anxiety-related difficulties.

I've published books on ACT, given a TEDx talk with 260K+ views, founded East Bay Behavior Therapy Center, and spent two decades proving one thing: Your anxiety doesn't need fixing. It needs listening to. Because most of the time, anxiety is just trying to keep you safe, the problem is when "safe" becomes "stuck." And once you know the difference, everything changes.

My website is packed with resources, courses and content that will help you break free from those "playing-it-safe" moves and make the most out of your life!

GET ACT SKILLS IN YOUR INBOX:

Sign up to my newsletter to get actionable skills into your inbox! https://www.thisisdoctorz.com/playing-it-safe-newsletter/

HERE IS WHERE TO START:

1. TAKE THE PLAYING-IT-SAFE QUESTIONNAIRE: https://www.thisisdoctorz.com/playing-it-safe-questionnaire/

2. ONLINE COURSES: https://courses.thisisdoctorz.com/

3. PODCAST: https://www.thisisdoctorz.com/playing-it-safe-podcast/

4. BOOKS: https://www.thisisdoctorz.com/books/

5. BLOG: https://www.thisisdoctorz.com/playing-it-safe-blog/

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