The 5 Cs of Negative Thinking (2024)

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Brian Ford The 5 Cs of Negative Thinking (1)

Brian Ford

Big ambitions to change your life and change the world? Me too 👊 Behavior Change Expert (20+ million podcast downloads) & Social Impact Leader (Nonprofit founder)

Published Nov 24, 2023

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I heard this from Price Pritchett on Lewis Howes podcast, which I found to be an interesting framework about the 5 Cs of Negative Thinking. The 5 Cs are complaining, criticizing, concern, commiserating, and catastrophizing. With even a baseline understanding of these words, you can see how they can lead to cycles of misguided negative thinking. And what’s interesting is each has a slightly different version that is healthy and helpful. Let’s dive into each!

First is complaining. Complaining is more than just expressing dissatisfaction, it's getting stuck in a loop of focusing on problems without seeking solutions. It feels good to complain because it separates you from what’s happening, but it becomes a habit that hinders growth and progress. It’s like a relief valve that feels good the moment it opens up, but when it closes it just fills back up with the same problems.

Next is criticizing. At first, pointing out flaws might seem like a way to improve things, but truthfully criticism dulls the shine of achievements and stifles creativity. That’s because criticizing isn’t done with the intention to improve, but rather the intention to bring something down. Shifting from criticism to constructive feedback ignites growth and fosters a more collaborative environment.

Then we have concern. While having concerns are helpful to serve as warnings, and could be positive when coming from a place of caring, it can easily be overdone and turn into worry. We gravitate toward worry because we need a way to express the uncertainty, which evolves into overthinking about things out of our control and is draining.

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Next we have commiserating. Gathering with friends to share experiences and woes can feel therapeutic initially. But when these discussions get repetitive and stuck in sharing grievances, it can make feeling bad for yourself more acceptable. Ultimately the version of this you’d like to incorporate comes from a place of sympathy for others and acceptance for yourself, so that you can reroute your behavior to something more constructive.

And the last C is for catastrophizing. This is when things are blown out of proportion and you picture the worst case scenario. It makes you feel powerless because you’ve made the obstacle out to be so much bigger than it is, and it paralyzes you from feeling like you can take any meaningful action against it.

So if you want to delete negative thoughts when they come up, try to label them with one of these 5 terms and transition your way away from them. The most important conversation you’ll ever have is the one constantly happening in your head!

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Milkias Belay

Technology and Data Director | Telecommunication | Service Operations | Project Management | SAP Service Cloud | Coffee Enthusiast

1mo

Thank you for sharing.

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Selena Djordjevic

Marketing Assistant | Law student

3mo

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I was searching for this particular topic and came across your article and profile. Very insightful topics covered in a commendable way. Great job!

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Clifford Starks

🔓Unlock Your Inner Warrior to Gain the Edge in Your Business. Growth, Mindset, Life! | Executive and Leadership Coach | Turn Pressure Into Fuel and Watch Your Business Grow! 📈 #thefightersformula #cliffordstarks

5mo

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Very nice, once a person is aware of them they actually have an opportunity to avoid. Great article 👏

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The 5 Cs of Negative Thinking (2024)

FAQs

The 5 Cs of Negative Thinking? ›

The 5 Cs are complaining, criticizing, concern, commiserating, and catastrophizing. With even a baseline understanding of these words, you can see how they can lead to cycles of misguided negative thinking. And what's interesting is each has a slightly different version that is healthy and helpful.

What are the 5Cs of negativity? ›

Chasing these material things has stirred on many negative behaviours that are common to many, where we Complain, Criticise, Compare, Compete, Correct, Control. But yet so many of us still do it as it seems to give temporary relief, or believe that these behaviours will eventually improve the situation.

What are the 5 C's of behavior? ›

The 5 C's are competence, confidence, connection, caring/compassion and character. A sixth C, contribution, is attained when a person is able to fully realize all five of the C's.

What are the 5 C's of anxiety? ›

As a result of the adaptive development regulations, PYD outcomes (typically defined as the 5Cs: competence, confidence, character, caring, and connection) are facilitated. Confidence is defined as an inner feeling of positive self-worth and self-efficacy.

What are the 5 disadvantages of negative thinking? ›

Disadvantages of negative thoughts: There is no fun whatsoever at any time day or night, Debbie Downer and Negative Ned will be hanging around you as much as you will allow them, you may experience depression, you may feel ill, positive people will avoid you they very well may also lie to you when you ask, if they are ...

What are the 5 negative Cs? ›

The 5 Cs are complaining, criticizing, concern, commiserating, and catastrophizing. With even a baseline understanding of these words, you can see how they can lead to cycles of misguided negative thinking. And what's interesting is each has a slightly different version that is healthy and helpful.

What are the 5 Cs explained? ›

What is the 5C Analysis? 5C Analysis is a marketing framework to analyze the environment in which a company operates. It can provide insight into the key drivers of success, as well as the risk exposure to various environmental factors. The 5Cs are Company, Collaborators, Customers, Competitors, and Context.

What are the 5 C's of self esteem? ›

The PYD-5C is a self-report measure consists of 34 items that serve as indicators for each of the 5Cs (competence, confidence, character, connection, caring).

What are the 5 P's of behavior? ›

The 5 Ps. The 5 P's are another tool I use to reinforce expectations in the classroom, and is another effective strategies for behavior management. They are 5 words: Prompt, Polite, Productive, Patient, Prepared that set the tone for the culture of my classroom. We prioritize the 5 P's in all that we do.

What is the key elements of the 5 C's? ›

The five Cs of credit are important because lenders use these factors to determine whether to approve you for a financial product. Lenders also use these five Cs—character, capacity, capital, collateral, and conditions—to set your loan rates and loan terms.

What are the 5 C's of stress? ›

The five C's - clarity, choice, control, conditioning and confidence- are tools that can help one learn to respond to stress in a healthier, more productive manner, said Jeffrey Mangrum, a Chicago-based trainer.

What are the 5 C's of calm? ›

Unlocking the 5 C's of Well-Being: Contentment, Calmness, Compassion, Courage, and Clarity. The five qualities of Contentment, Calmness, Compassion, Courage and Clarity are innate to human nature. As children we exhibit these qualities , but as we grow up these get covered up by our environmental conditioning.

What are the 5 C's of wellbeing? ›

The 5Cs are competence, confidence, character, caring, and connection. The anxiety dimensions are Social anxiety, Physical symptoms, Separation anxiety, and Harm avoidance.

What are the 3 C's of negative thinking? ›

Some clients may be familiar with the “3 C's” which is a formalized process for doing both the above techniques (Catch it, Check it, Change it). If so, practice and encourage them to apply the 3 C's to self- stigmatizing thoughts.

How do I shut down a negative person? ›

Ways To Shut The Negative People Out
  1. Reach out.
  2. Be honest. If you plan to reach out, try to be gentle but honest about how this person's actions are affecting you and others. ...
  3. Walk away. ...
  4. Give them what they need. ...
  5. Create space. ...
  6. Set boundaries. ...
  7. Model the desired behavior. ...
  8. Take a look at yourself.
Feb 20, 2024

What are the 4 negative thinking patterns? ›

Examples of Negative Thinking Patterns
  • Polarization or Dichotomous Thinking: ...
  • Emotional Reasoning: ...
  • Overgeneralization: ...
  • Labeling: ...
  • Mental Filtering: ...
  • Fortune-Telling: ...
  • Mind-Reading: ...
  • Magnification or Catastrophizing:
Nov 19, 2021

What are the five Cs used to describe? ›

The five Cs of credit are important because lenders use these factors to determine whether to approve you for a financial product. Lenders also use these five Cs—character, capacity, capital, collateral, and conditions—to set your loan rates and loan terms.

What are the 5 Cs of positive thinking? ›

Lerner (2009) described PYD as a process that promotes the “5Cs”: competence, confidence, connection, character, and caring. Lerner (2009) also described thriving young people as individuals who actively nurture, cultivate, and develop positive qualities.

What are the names of 5 negative emotions? ›

Negative emotions — like sadness, anger, loneliness, jealousy, self-criticism, fear, or rejection — can be difficult, even painful at times. That's especially true when we feel a negative emotion too often, too strongly, or dwell on it too long.

What are the 5 Cs of crisis? ›

Here, we are going to discuss what we believe are the 5 Cs of crisis communications: Concern, Commitment, Competency, Clarity, and Confidence.

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