The Computer Screen Metaphor
The computer screen metaphor reveals that our thoughts can affect us to the point that we lose sight of our goals. We are talking about a therapeutic resource / technique used to describe in a simple way how thoughts affect us in everyday situations.
Through this metaphor, situations are analyzed from different perspectives. It is used as an example to understand how negative thoughts can affect us in achieving our goals.
In the metaphor of the computer screen , the messages represent negative automatic thoughts, or the ideas that contaminate our thought processes, conditioning them, stopping them and generating discomfort. Studies confirm that our thoughts can push us to failure. When this happens, we are not always able to identify them as responsible for the result obtained.
The computer screen metaphor
Two colleagues work in the same office and share a desk. Suddenly, messages start appearing on their computer screens saying “You will not be able to solve the problem” and “You are useless”.
The first girl tries to delete the messages even if they keep coming back. So he decides to focus on his work and tries not to be swayed by the messages that appear. Despite having conditioned him, he decides to continue doing his job.
The second girl tries at all costs to eliminate the messages, which are distracting her and undermining her self-esteem. He can’t get on with his work.
In the end, she is neither able to delete the messages nor to continue working, as they have caused her to become blocked which prevents her from concentrating and working calmly and normally. Her suffering grows with the multiplication of negative messages, now generated by herself.
He looks at the colleague and feels anger because he sees her working without letting herself be influenced by the messages, and is convinced that the content of her messages is probably different from his own.
Lesson of computer screen metaphor
From this metaphor we can come to the following conclusions:
1. There are multiple solutions for every situation
After reading the computer screen metaphor, we know that when faced with the same situation, two people can decide to react differently. This is a good example of how important self-confidence is.
When we are inundated with doubts or find ourselves working with negative messages, we need to regain our attention and divert it to another point. It is rarely all negative or all positive. On the contrary, it is normal that there is a balance and that we ourselves, with our perspective, give value to things.
2. Negative thoughts
Negative thoughts appear in our mind unexpectedly. They are the fruit of our personal experiences and, at times, they distract us from our goals.
Negative thoughts generate doubts and discomfort within us. However, they are natural and happen automatically. For this we must learn not to feed them in an attempt to make them disappear.
Which of the two colleagues do you identify with?
The first protagonist was able to overcome the difficulties with the aim of finishing her work within the day. She therefore managed to win the battle against the negative thoughts that could have spread after the initial ones. It teaches us that we must always maintain control to prevent certain ideas from reproducing in our thoughts.
The second protagonist of the story gives in to the pressure caused by the rain of negative messages that appear on her screen, letting them disturb her natural rhythm of work. Try to get over the situation by finally letting yourself be overwhelmed. He is not a worse or better person than the previous one, he simply used a different technique.
Ultimately, the computer screen metaphor is a good example for understanding the importance of employing problem-solving strategies that act not only at the behavioral level, but also at the mental level.
