The Power of Thought: How to Heal Your Mind with the CBT Triangle

Warrior's Ascent
Jun 30
4 min read

Welcome back, warriors. In this installment of the Warriors’ Ascent blog, we continue our journey inward—to the place where real battles are fought and healing truly begins: the mind.

This episode builds on the foundation laid in Episode 4 (System 1 vs. System 2 thinking) and introduces a powerful, life-changing tool from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: the CBT Triangle.

🧠 What Is the CBT Triangle?

The triangle is simple in structure—but profound in practice. It maps out how your:

Thoughts
Emotions
Actions

...are deeply interconnected. Change one, and you influence the others.

“Your thoughts drive your emotions, which drive your actions. That’s the power—and the risk—of the mind.” – Mike Kenny

Let’s break it down.

🧠 → ❤️ → 🔁 Thoughts → Emotions → Actions

Think of it as a loop. You experience a trigger—a situation, a person, even a memory—and your brain immediately responds with a thought.

That thought creates an emotion, which then fuels an action. And unless you step in, you’re running on autopilot—shaped by habits, trauma, or training that may no longer serve you.

🚪 The Elevator Example

You’re standing in an elevator. Someone keeps poking you from behind. You’re getting angrier by the second, rehearsing what you’ll say when you finally confront him. The door opens. You turn around—only to realize the person is blind and using a cane to find his way.

Did the stimulus change? No. But your thoughts changed, and instantly, so did your emotions and your desire to act.

“You didn’t feel different because the facts changed—you felt different because your interpretation changed.” – Mike Kenny

💣 Real-World Application: Road Rage & Old Habits

Matt opens up about the old reactions that still sneak up on him—like road rage. A slow driver, a careless lane change, a tailgater—and suddenly he’s back in a combat mindset.

But that’s just system one firing from years of ingrained training. That’s an old loop.

To change the result, you don’t wait for the next trigger. You work the triangle backward:

Identify the action (rage, yelling)
Find the emotion (anger, frustration)
Trace it to the thought (He’s disrespecting me. I’m not safe. I must respond.)

Once you identify that thought—you can change it.

⚔️ Tactical Reframe: From Trigger to Triumph

Matt shares a tactic he uses now: grace.

“Maybe that guy's racing home to his kid. Maybe he’s not targeting me. It’s not worth the cortisol spike, the tension, or the regret.”

Reframing the thought changes everything.

This is not weakness. This is discipline.

This is what we call warrior work—the kind that saves relationships, reduces stress, and helps you live in peace.

🙏 From “I Hate You” to “Namaste”

The triangle applies to deeper healing, too.

Matt recalls a cohort brother who arrived at Warriors’ Ascent angry, shut down, and totally withdrawn. His first words: “I hate all of you.”

By the end of the week?

“He was the biggest hugger in the group.”

What changed?Not the people.His thoughts changed.He stopped assuming the worst. He started opening up. And that reprogrammed his emotions—and his life.

🧘‍♂️ Yoga, Meditation & Growth: Busting Alpha Stigmas

For many of our warriors, practices like yoga or meditation are initially met with resistance. Why?

“Yoga is for hippies.”
“Meditation is for soft people.”
“I’m not wearing those tight pants.”

But thoughts like these are exactly what keep us stuck. They’re limiting beliefs—stories we tell ourselves to stay small, safe, and the same.

“Once I changed my thoughts about yoga, I found healing. It became a game-changer for my body and my mind.” – Matt Hastings

🔄 Rewiring Through Action

And remember: the triangle flows in all directions.

Sometimes you act first (e.g., showing up at the gym), and that reshapes your thoughts (“I am disciplined”) and emotions (“I feel proud”).

Even small actions create big change—especially when you're in a low state.

Depressed? Take a shower.
Anxious? Walk around the block.
Angry? Breathe. Stretch. Journal.

“Show up. Honor the commitment to yourself. The action rewires your identity.” – Mike Kenny

🧰 Bonus Tools: Daily Thought Record & Alternate Thinking

In our program, we also teach practical tools for implementing the CBT triangle.

📓 Daily Thought Record

A written exercise to break down your:

Situation
Thought
Emotion
Action
Alternate Thought

This tool helps you spot recurring distortions, such as:

Catastrophizing ("It’s all ruined.")
All-or-nothing thinking ("I failed—so I’m a failure.")
Mind-reading ("They hate me. I just know it.")

💡 Alternate Thought Reframe

Ask yourself:

“What else could be true?”
“What’s a more helpful story here?”
“What’s a thought that leads to better outcomes?”

💥 Healing Thought Patterns = Life Transformation

It’s not about being perfect.
It’s not about becoming passive.
It’s about learning how your mind works, so you can show up as your best self—in combat, in peace, at home, at work, and everywhere in between.

“You’ve trained to survive emergencies in the sky. Now it’s time to train for emergencies in your mind.” – Matt Hastings

🧭 Key Takeaways

✅ The CBT Triangle maps the path from thought → emotion → action

✅ You can intervene anywhere in the triangle to change your patterns

✅ Your thoughts are not facts—they are just stories

✅ Reframing those thoughts leads to emotional freedom and better outcomes

✅ Grace, forgiveness, and curiosity are more powerful than rage, regret, and resentment

✅ Forgiveness isn't for them—it’s for you.

🎧 Ready to Join the Movement?

We’re building a tribe of warriors who aren’t just surviving—but thriving.

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