LESSON #7: MANAGE YOUR THOUGHTS VIDEO

https://youtu.be/qoTWXI0-EiQ?feature=shared

We all get discouraged sometimes, especially while changing a habit or learning something new. Self-doubt and other sabotaging thoughts sneak in through the back door—or sometimes right in our wide-open front door. These thoughts try to take the wind out of our sails and knock us over. But, there are things you can do to minimize negative thoughts and feelings of overwhelm.

Each of us inherited a challenge from our ancestors called negativity bias. It is a tendency that kept early humans alerted to potential threats by paying special attention to risks in their environment. This catastrophic thinking bias helped us to survive in long ago hunter-gatherer times. But today, our historic impulse to safeguard us from imminent physical threats on the outside has become a struggle against insecurities on the inside. This fear-based programming can accidentally interfere with our desire for growth and well being. Fear of failure, rejection, disappointment, embarrassment, being misunderstood, and even fear of success can stop growth in its tracks like almost nothing else can. It can paralyze and prevent us from moving forward toward our potential.

This negativity bias has preconditioned us to respond emotionally over logically. The more evolved part of our brains, the cerebral cortex, get bypassed by the distress call noise of the less disciplined primitive brain, the amygdala. When a perception signal from a present circumstance reaches the amygdala, it is compared to stored memories of past experience. If it maps to a past fear or harm, we may presume we are again in danger. An example of this is a sudden loud noise in the night that jolts us awake, provoking fear or an urge to flee.

Strong emotions like fear, anger, anxiety, and depression can quickly distort and emotionally hijack a present moment perception. And, much of this occurs without our full awareness. Our outdated alert system causes our bodies to react more intensely to negative stimuli than to positive experience, and even reinforce it.

Things You Can Do

• Accept the discomfort of change, and find What’s Right About What’s Wrong. Be curious about the unpleasant, asking “What is interesting, okay, or beneficial about this circumstance?”
• Self-monitor. Stay aware of the inputs coming from your various environments—mind, body, family, colleagues, community, and world.
• Remind yourself of negativity bias and the extent to which your brain is wired around fear, anxiety, and being on alert.
• Engage in and savor positive, joyful, beneficial experiences. Let goodness saturate your being. If or when you begin to become bogged down by negative thoughts or commentary, ask yourself, “Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? Is it helpful?”
• Gently reframe any harmful thoughts and shift gears in your mind to positive thoughts, memories, or affirmations. You can talk back to negative thoughts, even out loud.

If you're in emotional distress or having a mental health emergency, dial 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. This is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the United States. You can also text HOME to 741-741 for the Crisis Text Line.

Reframing Negative Thoughts

Stop fueling the negative story loops by making a sincere commitment to change. Be as mindful as you can be at the first sign of negative chatter to prevent it from becoming a runaway stream of thought. Allow a beneficial, alternative perspective to grow in its place. Like a good gardener, plant sturdy flowers after pulling the weeds.

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