Interrupting Negative Thought Patterns: Using Words to Shift Limiting Beliefs for a Healthier, Happier Life
Buddha said, “With our thoughts, we create the world.” I know this is true for me; how about you? When my thoughts are not good-feeling, the world around me feels heavy and hopeless. When I choose better thoughts, the world feels brighter and opportunities seem to knock at my door. Look inward and see if this is true for you. You hold the power to shift your limiting beliefs through words, leading to a healthier, happier life.
We all have a constant narrator in our mind talking to us during our waking moments. And 80% of the stories our minds share within us are negative. If this is true for you, take a moment to think about the thoughts you’ve had today. Ask yourself if they are the same thoughts you had yesterday. Did you know that humans have 60,000 to 80,000 thoughts per day? And 90% of those thoughts are the same thoughts we had yesterday! This is why so many of us live with self-doubt, imposter syndrome and poor mental health.
The good news is that there are ways to interrupt your negative thought loops. I have experimented with this in my own mind. In order to change your thoughts, you first must pay attention to them and then choose better-feeling thoughts in the moment. Practicing words of affirmation daily will help create new thought patterns in your mind.
We are not born thinking negative thoughts; we pick them up and practice them throughout life, repeating them to ourselves and subsequently developing belief systems around them. When we catch these patterns and begin shifting them, our negative, limiting beliefs also shift, leading to a healthier mental space and a happier life!
Moment of Introspection & Leadership:
The mind loves to be right. And it’s often very misleading. When I learned about the Reticular Activating System (RAS), an intelligent system at the base of our brain stems, a new awareness started to unlock for me and I began understanding more about how my mind works. The RAS is what allows information to either enter in through our senses or block it out. Though we have 50 billion bits of information coming to us each day, this intelligent system only allows 50 bits of information to get in!
The power of the RAS can be harnessed. When we allow this part of our minds to let information in, it searches our environment to bring relatable thoughts into our view. This is why dream boards, aspirations and affirmations are so powerful; we’re putting the positive information we want to be allowed in right in front of our minds. This disrupts the pattern of the natural tendency of our minds to be ruled by negative thoughts and judgments.
You can use your attention and focus to practice writing out better-feeling thoughts. Over time you will begin to notice that your mind’s way of thinking is changing and your inner and outer worlds are becoming increasingly friendly and kind!
“Once you change negative thoughts to positive ones, you will start noticing positive results.”
— Willie Nelson
REFLECTIVE & DISCOVERY QUESTIONS FOR THOUGHTS & JOURNALING
What is one daily affirmation you could commit to writing down and saying out loud for the next 30 days?
What do you love spending time thinking about lately?
FOR YOUR TEAM DAILY HUDDLE
In your work, what is one part of your day that you feel free from negativity and fueled with creativity?