Useful Career Theories Part 3: The ABC Theory

I will introduce some useful career theories (specifically, the best parts of them) that I have selected based on my own judgment and bias as both a manager and a career consultant.

What is the ABC Theory?

The ABC Theory is a name for a theory derived from the following acronym:

This is a theory from the field of psychology that career theories (or rather, career consultants) are based on.
It was proposed by Albert Ellis and is one of the theories within Rational Therapy.
Although simple, it is avery useful theory for dialogue with people who are strugglingand is knowledge that is definitely worth remembering.

Simply put, it is a theory that says, "Let's change our way of thinking."

If I were to explain this theory in one practical phrase, it would be "Let's change our way of thinking."
A (Event) exists as a fact, but how one perceives that fact depends on B (Beliefs, convictions, or stereotypes). It explains that the emotions generated as a result (C) of A passing through B depend on B.
When faced with a certain event, one may be trapped by the belief that "I must do X", and as a result, end up with negative emotions, feeling troubled, or unable to be positive.
For example, when you fail at work (Event), if you have the belief that you must never fail at work and must always succeed, you will end up feeling that you have no ability or that you are a failure.

Supporting the Externalization (Verbalization) of Beliefs

While it is a very simple story when diagrammed as above, it is not so easy when it comes to reality. This is becausepeople are not consciously aware of their own BeliefsAssumptions and stereotypes exist in the subconscious, and people are not usually aware that they hold such thoughts.
Therefore,it is difficult to reach the root cause of their worriesand even more difficult to remove them.

That is where managers and colleagues come in.
This is support through dialogue that helps verbalize the Belief portion. By asking questions such as, "So you think that failing at work is a bad thing?" or "What does failure mean to you, Mr./Ms. X?", you can help them verbalize their Beliefs.
The important thing is to make them visible (to put them into words). This is called externalization, and by externalizing, people find it easier to face things calmly.

Countering after Externalization

After externalizing and preparing to calmly face your own beliefs, you change your way of thinking by countering them.
There are three points to keep in mind when countering:

1. Is it realistic?

2. Is it logical?

3. Is it pragmatic?

Regarding the example written above (one must never fail at work), you can counter it from the perspective of whether it is realistic.
For example, you can counter by saying, "Even Steve Jobs failed and was kicked out of his company," "Tadashi Yanai of Uniqlo also says '1 win, 9 losses'," or "In other words, even great business leaders who are respected around the world fail."

Through this, you can change your way of thinking to something like, "It doesn't mean that everything at work will be a success."