Essential Thinking Skills to Recognize and Overcome Mental Roadblocks.
Imagine this… You send an important email to your manager early in the morning—a detailed project update you’re proud of. At first, you feel good. But as the hours pass and there’s no reply, you start to feeling uneasy and doubt creeps in.
“Did I mess something up?”
“Was there an error in the numbers?”
“Are they upset with me?”
You check your inbox. Again. And again. Every time your manager walks by without saying anything, your anxiety grows. You start avoiding them. You busy yourself with small tasks. You can’t concentrate. You’re waiting for the day to end.
Then, at the end of the day, you overhear a chat—your manager’s been stuck in meetings all day and hasn’t checked their inbox. You feel relieved.
They weren’t ignoring you. Nothing was wrong with your email. But still—you’re drained. Not from the work… but from worrying.
What just happened is a mental roadblock—a negative thought pattern that gets in your way. They’re not based on facts but on fear, assumption, or self-doubt. Some examples include:
• “I’m not good enough.”
• “Everyone’s judging me.”
• “If something goes wrong, it’s my fault.”
These thoughts can hold you back from speaking up, taking risks, or connecting with others. They cloud your judgment and create unnecessary stress.
Mental Roadblocks: Let us see how they might be harmful and how they can affect us.
- Mental roadblocks can increase your anxiety: You spend hours overthinking things that may not even be true.
- It can create false stories the overwhelm your mind: You assume the worst about neutral events.
- It might strain your relationships: You may withdraw, become defensive, or misread others.
- It can also undermine your confidence: Over time, self-doubt can wear down your motivation.
Now, let’s learn one basic skill to overcome them. We’re going to use our driving skills to help us drive and navigate our mind.I call this the S.L.O.W. method. It’s a 4-Step Tool for Managing Mental Roadblocks.
Driving can be enjoyable—if we know how to do it safely and avoid danger. It requires attention, control, and timely decision-making—just like managing negative thoughts.
S.L.O.W.
S means Stop It’s hitting the brakes when you see danger in front of you. You don’t keep driving when you see danger or warning sign, right? If you do, you might get into a bad accident.
For mental roadblocks, when you feel a wave of worry or self-doubt, pause.
Don’t speed through the thought or you might hit something.
Your mental cue could be: “Something just came up—let me pause and take a look.”
L means Label See what is the danger, or read the warning sign clearly, and then label the danger or warning that is in front of you.
For mental roadblocks, label and name the thought for what it is:
“That’s a fallen tree of the fear of failure showing up.”
“That’s the warning sign on my car dashboard of self-doubt arising inside me.”
Labelling helps you see the thought or feeling clearly, without automatically believing it.
Your mental cue could be: “This is a warning signal—not a fact. Let me see it clearly and try to understand it.”
O means Observe Check your surroundings, both inside and out, so that you know what hindrances and resources you have.
For your mental roadblocks, Ask yourself:
- What triggered this thought? Write it down.
- How do you feel physically and emotionally?
- Is there real evidence or truth for this thought? Is it really happening or might be happening or maybe not even going to happen? Let’s not assume until it happens.
Observation helps you get a bigger perspective.
Your mental cue could be: “Let me zoom out and see the big and real picture. What else could be happening?”
W means Work with it (Choose your next move towards a better solution)
For mental roadblocks, Now that you’ve paused and observed, decide what’s helpful:
- Do you need to think differently?
- Maybe slow down more to think even more clearly.
- Or Ask for help. Sometimes, we are too afraid to ask or clarify.
- Or it could be just to take a break and relax your mind.
Your mental cue could be: “What’s the most helpful next step I can take towards what’s important for me now?”
You’re the Driver. When your mind starts racing, remember to S.L.O.W. down.
You’re in control. You don’t have to let your thoughts drive you. Learn to apply the 4-Step Tool of S.L.O.W. for Managing Mental Roadblocks. By learning to pause and reflect, you make wiser, calmer decisions.
In the next few lessons, we’ll get more in-depth. We will explore the specific types of mental roadblocks—nine of them—and how to handle each one. I hope this has been helpful.
Bye, take care, and see you again on another Possibility Journey.
Written by:
Mr. Lee Teck Ming
(Psychotherapist)
New Vision Counselling and Consultancy 