Mouse Traps to Break the Worry Cycle

Mouse Traps break the worry cycle to develop new habits and behaviors

Worry is something that we all of have. Worry stops us from;

• Taking risks
• Exploring the unknown
• Gaining new knowledge
• Changing
• Listening
• Making more money
• Confronting team members who are not doing their work
• Being happy and doing meaningful work

Worry follows a familiar pattern

Event (internal or external) –> Worry (Thoughts & Feelings) –> Worry—Physical
(Stress reactions) –> Worry—Behavior
(Checking & Avoiding) –> returning to Worry

This cycle is vicious.

So how do mouse traps break this? A mouse trap has an external worry attached. Fears from getting injured, to rodent phobia etc… Attaching
and working through a Worry then creating familiarity with the worry,
and the final step is attaching a worry that the person has to the mouse
trap.

Here is how I generally sequence Breaking the Worry Cycle with Mouse traps.

1. 1 Explain the worry cycle
2. 2 Explore techniques to reduce worry i.e. behavior replacement, breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation.
3. 3 Illustrate how mouse traps work
4. 4 explore worries and individual worry of mouse traps
5. 5 Practice until familiar and have a working comfort with traps
6. 6 Explain about breaking the worry cycle
7. 7 Ask people to write a worry they have on the trap
8. 8 Guide people though a visualization of worry reduction and techniques.
9. 9 People gain concrete and metaphorical skills in breaking the worry cycle with the mouse traps.

Mouse Traps and the Worry Cycle – good stuff. To discuss this further contact me

Michael Cardus is Create-Learning