A negative mind will never give you a positive life.

“This problem is too big…The opposition is too strong… You’ll never get past it.” Sounds familiar? You can let this mindset play over and over in your head and live in defeat, discouragement, intimidation, and fear, or you can get the tools and strategies to replace it.

In this episode of the Really Personal Podcast, we embark on practical tools and strategies to help break free of negativity and create healthier, more positive mindsets. You can’t control or stop negative thoughts altogether or stop them from arriving, but what we can do, what we can control is our response to them.

When negative thoughts come, erase them and replace them. It goes beyond refraining from thinking negatively. Once you dismiss negative thoughts by making the decision not to dwell on them, or letting worry consume you, they’ll come back after a few seconds.

However, once you erase the negative, and replace it with a positive thought, then you have something to work with, thus something to grow from. Don’t give negative thoughts and worry the time of day.

We find ourselves in heightened emotional states that dominate us (anxiety, worry, doubts, fear, insecurities, etc.), and if we behave in fear, we’re going to get very different results versus being in a state of courageousness, ambition, determination, boldness, etc.

To change results, you have to change behaviors. To change behaviors, you have to change the emotional state you’re in.

Train Your Brain From Negative Thought Patterns

#1 Identify the negative thought pattern when it’s happening.

Get to know the thoughts you are trying to tackle. Journal, write down what you’re thinking, and then question it: Is this true? Is this absolutely true? When you learn to question your thoughts, then you don’t believe them. You can’t change a pattern if you’re not aware of it. What is your brain thinking over and over again, and when does it happen? Record your thoughts. What seems to trigger them? How do you respond to them? And that’s not just how you speak to yourself, but what you do after that?

#2 Plan out your new response to those thoughts. 

It’s really important to plan because at the moment it’s much harder to do so. As soon as you notice this pattern, disrupt the pattern. You can use a trigger word like STOP or CHANGE, and then do something with your body like clapping your hands or stomping your feet. The idea is to make that disruption strong enough to interrupt that negative thought pattern. You’re slapping yourself out of the pattern! Know that it’s just one way of seeing things.

#3 Redirection!

Immediately after disrupting the pattern, redirect your thoughts to positive or neutral associations. Hold it for 30 seconds or more. Imagery, affirmations, physical movements, or a combination of all three could be used. Don’t worry about disrupting perfectly. The idea here is once you’ve interrupted that pattern with a little bit of shock, you’re going to reassociate your brain to the new pattern.

#4 Protect Yourself From Negativity.

Gratitude is your defense from negativity. Gratitude erases negativity. You have to actively practice gratitude for what you have in order to see the positives. It is possible to see the positives- you just have to get intentional. Human beings have something called Negativity Bias– meaning, our brains have evolved to pay more attention to the negatives than the positives.

If we want to feel positive about things, we are going to have to be intentional about them!

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