Those same four dots could have been joined into a cross. You never saw the cross, because the square had already settled.

What the research says

A randomised trial in adults with maladaptive anger tested cognitive reappraisal, the trained habit of generating another reading of a situation, on its own, alongside mindful emotion awareness on its own and the two combined, all delivered briefly over the internet. Producing an alternative interpretation is treated there as a skill to be practised rather than an insight to be had. The programme was brief, which limits the scale of the evidence.

Strength of evidence: one line of research. A single study, or a theoretical account.