Victim, villain and hero—the three archetypes of human behavior that are known collectively in the therapy world as the "triangle."
When we are acting out one of these roles, we are stuck in the triangle, meaning that we are stuck in our ineffective role-playing. When stuck in the triangle, individuals are drifting from their authentic selves. The best way to cure a drift is to shift. Shifting is a term for when an individual makes a conscious choice to shift, alter, or modify their way of thinking.

Bad moods often tend to work as a downward spiral. For instance, first you stub your toe on the way to bathroom in the morning. Next, you get stuck in the traffic on the way to work.On the way to your desk, a coworker makes a seemingly snide remark to you. Before the day gets any worse and you become any more committed to your bad mood, make a shift.
Published 01/04/2011