Get	your	notebook	and	try	the	following	exercise	to	get	at	your	core
beliefs.
Identify	a	situation/interaction/image/thought	stream	that	brings	about
anxiety	for	you.
1.
	
Record	the	fearful/anxious	thoughts	you	have	about,	or	when	you’re
in,	the	situation/interaction/image/thought	stream	(or	revisit	what	you
logged	for	the	
“Record	Your	Thoughts”	strategy
	
).
2.
	
For	each	thought	listed,	ask	yourself,	“If	this	thought	were	true,	what
does	it	mean	about	me	as	a	person?”
3
	
.
	
Each	time	you	understand	what	that	thought	means	about	you,	write	it
down.
4.
	
Then	ask	yourself	the	same	question	about	new	thoughts	listed:	“What
does	it	mean	about	me	as	a	person	if	this	thought	is	actually	100
percent	accurate?”	Then	do	the	same	for	the	next	new	thought.
Eventually	you	will	funnel	down	to	a	core	belief.
Let’s	look	at	another	example	of	the	technique	in	action,	this	time	with
Ahmed.	When	talking	with	others,	Ahmed	appears	calm	and	collected,	but
internally	he	is	evaluating	his	every	word.	While	on	a	date	or	social	outing,	he
believes	he	appears	awkward.	The	downward	arrow	technique	follows: