Overcoming Negative Thoughts

What am I thinking? Hurtful to helpful

Our inner dialogue can be busy and unpredictable. All the ‘what ifs’ and ‘I should haves’ can come to the forefront of our mind and cloud our judgement. However, we can learn to take charge of our thought patterns, using the simple steps below.

Notice. Bring awareness to your thoughts and be objective in your observation. It can help to picture your thoughts in a fluid landscape i.e. cars on a highway, boxes on a conveyor belt or clouds in the sky. These things will pass, and we can observe their movements before intervening.

Give them space. Use the phrase I am thinking that…. to bring a sense of internal control and simply state the thought for what it is. This can look like writing it out, saying out loud to yourself or mentally holding it in the forefront of your mind.

Check for evidence. A thought is not a fact. What other information is influencing this thought? Ask yourself questions about the usefulness of this thought.

Reframe. We wouldn’t let others talk to us in a negative way, why bring this on ourselves? Frustration and anxiety are commonly the product of an inconsistency between our expectation and outcome. Examine the thought and reword it in a helpful way