Scripts

I sometimes think of the human mind as a computer.  We input data ourselves and so do lots of other people.  From childhood we are making sense of things in our own way and inputting these theories.  We’re also learning and listening to others who contribute their theories and beliefs.  All this forms our attitudes and behaviours and creates a script.  This script governs how we see ourselves and how we perceive others.

All is good if your computer has been filled with mostly positive experiences and encouraging peers and adult figures.  In my experience these people are rare. The reality is that many of us run scripts that mean that we aren’t that kind to ourselves all the time.

Some examples?

Scripts I’ve heard vary.  I hear statements such as “Nothing ever works out for me“,  “I’m not very good with people“, “I’m no good at …“, “nobody understands me“, “I don’t really deserve…“. These are clearly not helpful or useful scripts, and I frequently challenge clients to think whether there might be something more useful they could believe. Just asking this question makes an enormous difference.

Not all scripts are negative – many clients have developed scripts that encourage them to believe that they deserve success and that they have talents.  When this happens, it’s useful to focus on these positive scripts and see how they can influence other areas of thinking that might not be so helpful.

The good news…

Once we realise that we are actually running certain scripts in our heads, things start to change.  Identifying the tendency really is the first step – then it’s possible to form new scripts and practise them.  It takes focus and a good dose of effort, but the results are clear.

Catrin MacDonnell 27 November 2015