Example: Learning a new language

Imagine you're taking a Spanish class for the first time. After the first few days in class, you want to try out your new skills, so you call up a friend who speaks Spanish. After saying basic greetings, you realize that you don't know enough Spanish to talk with your friend. He speaks slowly and carefully, trying to help you along, but you feel stupid even trying. “I'll never learn Spanish,” you think. “I'm stupid and awful at foreign languages and this is a total waste of time.” This negative belief brings your mood down and keeps you from learning something new that interests you. Since you're new at Spanish and your friend isn't, a more realistic thought would be, “At least I have the basics down. If I keep at it, soon I'll be good enough to talk to my friend.” How would you feel then?

You can break out of this pattern by using the CAB method.