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Part 2.Becoming Aware of Negative Thoughts We all struggle with negative thoughts from time to time. To let go of them and replace them, awareness is key. Have you ever noticed that when you’re in a low mood, negative thoughts come darting into your mind, one after the other? Before long, it can turn your day from bad to worse. When it comes to change, awareness is the first step. Trying to stop negative thoughts through willpower alone is like fumbling around in a dark room trying to find a key — it’s a whole lot easier once you turn on the light. 1. Slow down To become aware of your negative thoughts, create quiet time in your day and whitespace in your schedule. When life is go-go-go, it may be difficult to hear the extent of your inner critic. You might just get bits and pieces without ever realizing how much it’s affecting you. You could find it helpful to make time for your inner world by putting away your phone. For example, instead of driving while listening to a podcast, or watching YouTube while you eat a meal, power down your technology and listen to your thought loops instead. Not exactly fun. But when you create silence, you can finally hear your inner voice speak. 2. Keep a thought log Imagine you’re a scientist. The best way to get to know your subject (you) is with a bit of data collection. You can start by carrying around a little notebook in your pocket, or creating a fresh list on your phone. Get curious. Every time you hear a negative thought cross your mind, write it down and make a note of what triggered it. Once in a while, look them over and notice what stands out to you. 3. Meditate Of the 150 mental health experts polled for this article series, more than 90% of them mentioned meditation as an important tool — if not the most important tool. If you can, try to meditate for 5 to 20 minutes each morning. If you don’t feel like creating a whole ritual, it can be as simple as sitting up in bed. You don’t even have to worry about “doing” anything as you sit there, like quieting your thoughts. Simply watch the show in your mind. Meditation creates a neutral zone for observation. It provides behind-the-scenes access to your thoughts so you can watch them without having to identify with them. It creates a sense of choice: You can believe your thoughts, or watch them go by. 4. Journal A journaling practice at the same time every day can help take the edge off. Your negative thoughts, once down on paper, may appear much less threatening. Later, reread what you wrote and see if you can identify thought patterns. From there, you can examine what core wounds may be causing the negative thoughts in the first place. For example, if you have a negative thought that says, “I’m an imposter at work,” perhaps the underlying belief is, “I’m not good enough.” When you identify the underlying belief, you can do some healing work around it and unravel the narrative that you’re operating from. It’s like switching from autopilot to manual mode — you’re now in charge again. Next steps Awareness is a great place to begin. Now that you know how to shine a light on your negative thoughts, it’s time to learn how to let go of them. 2. Anxiety about the present: Anxiety about the present is understandable 3. Shame about the past: Have you ever lain awake worrying about something you did last week, or even last year? Why do I keep having negative thoughts? Believe it or not, negative thoughts are your brain’s way of trying to protect you. Your mind is like an advanced software program, constantly picking up new information and sorting pieces of intel into “good” and “bad” piles, so that it knows whether to repeat, delete, or shelve for later. The problem is, the more your brain does this, the better it gets at it. Negative thinking becomes an efficient super-highway in the prefrontal cortex, bypassing perspective and rational thought. Next step: In the next video, we’ll discuss how to How to Become Aware of Negative Thoughts