The Starting Eleven

≈ 6 min

Read the monologue below. Identify (a) the cognitive distortion shown — or whether there is no distortion at all — and (b) the exact phrase that best signals your answer. This is a puzzle about reasoning patterns, not a diagnosis or advice. The speaker is a fictional, invented character.

The scene

Being left off the starting lineup

In the differential

Fortune-telling
Personalisation
All-or-nothing thinking
Emotional reasoning
Catastrophising
No distortion — a reasonable reaction

Play today’s Distortion.

This case first aired on July 26, 2026. A fresh distortion runs every morning — same rules, five minutes, one solution.

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