In cognitive behavioral therapy, one of the principles is that our thoughts trigger our emotions and behavior. But this is not always an obvious point. Sometimes, at the beginning of working with a client, or simply when communicating with a non-specialist interlocutor, when I talk about this principle, I hear doubts or objections. Usually they tell me: “No, I wasn’t thinking about anything, I was minding my own business, and I felt sad/anxious/lonely.” This means that the person tracked the change in his emotional state, but did not track the course of his thoughts. Simply because he has not developed this skill. Then I ask: What exactly did you do? After what did your emotions change? And the following becomes clear. Here's an example: My interlocutor (C) was playing a computer game. After some time, his mood deteriorated and anxiety appeared. Me: Remember at what point your mood began to change, and try to remember what you were thinking about at that moment? S: I remember, I was playing and started thinking about finding a new job. Me: What does job search involve for you? ?S: I don’t like the offers that are currently on the market, and I’m also afraid that the interview will go poorly. Me: Why do you think that the interview will go poorly? S: I’m not confident in myself on some questions. Me: What? what will happen if the interview goes poorly? S: That means I won’t get a new job, I won’t be successful. My financial situation will not improve. Also, at my new job I would like to make new acquaintances, but without work this will not work. Here! These are the thoughts that flashed through my interlocutor’s head. Indeed, they evoke both anxiety (“Will I get a new job or not?”) and sadness (“If not, I’m not successful”). When I wrote this and you read it, it took a certain amount of time, but in my head such thoughts fly by very quickly. Often, without special training, we do not track them, but notice the emotions and behavior that have already appeared after them (if I was upset, I went to smoke or have a tasty snack). This level of superficial thoughts that seem to go by themselves in our head about what awaits us, what is happening to us now, or what happened to us, is called the level of automatic thoughts. And in order to begin to better understand what is happening to us, why we feel what we feel and do what we do, and learn to manage our condition, it is useful to track our automatic thoughts. And finally, automatic thoughts are not only negative, they can also be positive, bringing peace or joy. You can track thoughts that support and delight you and use them as a resource.