CARDS: Redirect Flash Cards

Description

REDIRECT is not just a set of positive mindset flashcards; it’s a powerful tool for individuals and groups. It’s designed to help you practice thought reframing, a skill that can significantly improve your mindset and help you overcome negative thoughts.

Everyone has ANTs. ANTs are Automatic Negative Thoughts.* 

ANTs infiltrate the mind, extinguish happiness, and block people from fulfilling their purpose. ANTs are not true but can SOUND true. It is essential to know that ANTs are fed by believing them because, unfortunately, when they are believed, more hungry ANTs come to torment them. Fortunately, when people learn they’re ANTs, not “truths,” and reframe them, they stop coming.

The Redirect Flashcards help you stop believing them by practicing seeing them for what they are: False!

Here’s how the thought reframing process works with the REDIRECT Flashcards. The cards give examples of ANTs to deconstruct. They are not the player’s exact ANT at that moment, but something they may be able to relate to. This gives them distance from the thought on the card:

1. Players identify the negative thought on the card and recognize it as an ANT.
2. They delineate which ANT “species” it is. This process gives them additional distance. “Distance” means they are not wrapped closely in the emotion of that ANT, allowing more cognitive freedom to see it from different angles.
3. The player rewrites the thought into something more positive or preferred.
4. They compare their reframed thoughts with the suggestions on the back of the card, noting the similarities and differences.

Playing in a group allows discussion on the different approaches to reframing, enhancing the learning experience.

Whether in a classroom, a group, or working individually, the REDIRECT flashcards are a versatile tool. As you practice reframing your negative thoughts, you’ll find it easier to resist the next ANT that comes your way. With continued attention and intention, negative thoughts won’t become automatic habits. This increased control over your mind can lead to greater calm and happiness.

ANT Species

There are 9 “species” of ANTs representing nine categories of negative thoughts. Giving them a category helps people take their ANTs less seriously since they are no longer specific and personal. Plus, seeing how common ANTs are helps people not to feel so alone. Using flashcards in a classroom or group will help people learn how to reframe their thoughts faster. Humans are social learners, and hearing other approaches to reframing will more quickly advance how they can do it.

*This activity is based on the ANT framework designed by Daniel Amen, M.D., author of You, Happier.