It can be hard to figure out what you're saying in your head to make yourself feel bad or stay stuck in your current situation. Our heads are filled with so. much. stuff. Not to mention all the stimuli we take in from our environment on a daily basis. If you're finding it difficult to tune into your thoughts, try this trick:
Work backwards
What are you having trouble doing? Focus on the behavior. Are you procrastinating? Dragging your feet? Are you starting then giving up on your goals? Are you breaking promises to yourself?
Tap into how you’re feeling
Frustrated? Fed up? Defeated? Go deeper. Fearful? Go deeper still. What's the fear about? Where does it come from?
Pay attention to the pop-ups in your head
As you settle into that deeper feeling of fear/anxiety/worthlessness, chances are you're noticing some thoughts pop-up in your head. Listen to them. What are they saying? What are you hearing?
Chances are those thoughts are negative, belittling, constraining, and fearful
They may go something like this:
Who am I to want this?
I can't do this.
I've never been able to stick to this goal--what makes me think I can do it now?
You'll never amount to anything.
Those thoughts might be in your voice or someone else's. They may be voices you've internalized from your past.
A critical parent. A criticizing teacher. A mean girl. An ex.
I want you to write them down. Write them ALL down. Keep writing as the pop-ups come to you. Write until you've let them ALL out.
These are familiar thoughts, are they not?
Just as those feelings are familiar feelings.
And those behaviors are familiar behaviors.
It’s a vicious cycle and it won’t ever stop until you train your brain to think differently.
So how do you change it?
Your first step is to tell the negative thought to STOP
Whenever it comes up for you, tell it to stop. I don’t care how you do it. Picture a stop sign in your mind. Or an open hand in front of your face. Say the word “Stop” out loud or in your head. Anytime you notice that familiar behavior coming up or you start feeling those familiar feelings, tune into your self-talk and try to catch the thought in the act.
Your next step is to challenge your negative thoughts
Go back to your list. For every thought you wrote down, I want you to list all the reasons it's not true. Prove it wrong. Give examples, stories, anecdotes. Pretend you're in a stunning custom Chanel suit, in the middle of the courtroom, and your job is to convince the jury that those statements are false. Give 'em hell.
Finally, replace the negative thoughts with positive ones
What can you say to yourself instead? If you heard your best friend, sister, daughter—basically your favorite person in the entire world—say that about herself, what would you tell her? Be your best friend, your best cheerleader here.
And, if you want extra credit (I knew you were one of those high-achievers!), post your new thoughts/self-statements in a place where you can see them every day—throughout your day. Repeat them whenever you remember them. Set reminders on your phone. Every time a negative thought comes up, tell it to stop, then repeat your positive statement. It takes time to rebuild these connections in your brain so keep at it. Don’t give up. Give yourself time to learn something new. You've got this!