Brian Johnson explains a thought-defusion technique from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: notice a thought, label it (planning, comparing, criticizing), then repeat the label three times to defuse and return to the present. The practice comes from ACT's core idea: accept thoughts rather than fight them, then act on your values.
Chapters
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another heroic plus one. In our last plus one, we chatted about my sunrise trail walk workout and how I interrupted it to capture some act wisdom after walking through a spider web. Now I'm typing this +1 from the steps of the deck for the tiny house we have in our property where Nama stays when she visits. So, as you may recall, we talked about Stephen Hayes and wisdom from his great book A Liberated Mind, which features wisdom from his great therapeutic philosophy called Acceptance and Behavior Therapy, or ACT for short. As we discussed, Stephen tells us that we don't want to get stuck in the process of trying to change our thoughts. Research shows that when we do that, we tend to get entangled in those thought patterns like the spider web. He tells us that one of the limitations of cognitive behavioral therapy, or cbt is is that changing your cognition or thoughts just doesn't work that well. In fact, he says the most effective parts of CBT are the behavioral changes they encourage, not the cognitive. So I repeat, his approach with Acceptance and Commitment therapy is to accept your thoughts and the challenges of life and then commit to living in integrity with your values. Repeat over and over and over again, and in the process, you'll create a life of deeper and deeper meaning and joy. Now I promise to share one of the ways I've been practicing this. Here it is. When the voice in my head starts talking, I'm having fun. Simply noticing it. Always the most important first step so we don't get caught up in it. Then simply labeling whatever it is that I'm thinking about. Maybe I'm planning or comparing or criticizing or any range of things that might take me out of the moment I'm in. I notice the thought, then I label the thought, then I repeat the label three times. This is another idea inspired by him. Planning, planning, planning. When I notice myself obsessively kind of planning, moving things around, planning, planning. Of course that's helpful at times, but you want to notice for me anyway when it gets a little bit too much and then comparing, comparing, comparing. I defuse from the thought when I label it and then repeat it a few times. Criticizing, criticizing, criticizing, that arises. Stephen tells us that when we take a super simple action like that, we defuse from the thoughts in our minds that tend to take us out of the present moment. By assuming that observer perspective, we avoid getting stuck in the typically negative thought loop and get back into living fully in the present moment. It's a really powerful micro tool. Check out our notes on Steven's get out of youf Mind and Into youo Life, along with Russ Harris, the Happiness Trap and the Confidence Gap for more practical ideas. And for now, let's remember that we want to accept whatever's going on in our lives and our minds, then commit to doing what we know is best. Let's get out of our minds and into our lives today.
