What Happens When Talk Back to Your Negative Thought?
Talk Back to Your Negative Thought
How many times does anegative thought pop up in your mind and you give it center stage? You areattentive, you listen, you even replay it and gather similar thoughts to backup and support your negative thought. What’s up with that?
What percentage ofyour attitude in any given day is driven by a negative thought that you findyourself chasing around and around? Similar to a hamster wheel, you spinfrantically around in your mind, running as fast as you can trying to find theexit (a solution, an answer or understanding).
Often your thoughtsspill into three buckets: blame, complain, justify.
In neuroscience, theyrefer toBottom UpandTop DownThinking. As we continue thetheme of a lighter version of you in 2019 let’s focus on Top Down thinkingwhich gives you the opportunity to talk back to your negative thought and seekout possible solutions. This is the space in the brain that allows you to putthe brakes on that hamster wheel, step away from the drama and chooseresponses to situations that align with the person you are committed tobeing.
For example, Irecently heard the following statement, since we are coming up on Valentine’sDay this is a timely topic: “NothingEVER works out for me when it comes to relationships. I’ll never find the rightperson.”Now as soon as you use a universal quantifier phraselike: nothing, never, nobody, you flip into Bottom Up thinking which creates aton of anxiety in the body and results in impoverished views of reality…it’sa mind prison with no exit.
Let’s take the sametheme and flip it into a Top Down thinking phrase: “I am seeking out a healthy relationship in my life. I have notfound the lasting relationship I am looking for….YET…and I am open totuning into opportunities to make that happen easily and naturally movingforward.”
Do not let yourthoughts be the boss of you, talk back. Get out from under the bus ofvictimizing thoughts and learn how to drive the bus.
Neuroscience has aphrase: neurons that fire together re-wire together. What the heck does thatmean? A thought creates a message sent through a neuron that triggers emotions(your body’s response to your thought life).
If you fire enough ofthe same neurons over and over and over you create a HUB, a kind of home basemessaging system that is fueled and sustained by the thoughts you fire. Commonthemes of thoughts rewire together and sustain the message. Be very carefulwhat you think because your body is reacting to your thoughts. Too often webecome imprisoned by a negative thought HUB that we are sustaining.
Believe it or notstress is optional depending upon your messaging systems. Is life for you oragainst you? The choice is yours and makes all the difference when it comes toyour sense of safety, connection, wellbeing, confidence etc. Your attitudetowards any situation directly effects the outcomes you experience.
Take Action:
- In the Shift Leadership Program, we encourage participants to watch the Video Below by Dr. Joe Dispenza. Do you recognize a similar situation in your life that creates stress and anxiety? You have the choice to talk back to your thoughts and shift your perspectives of situations by intentionally firing new messages.
- This week keep note of what stresses you out each day. At the end of the week reflect on your notes and look for a common theme. This will shine the light of your awareness on a messaging system. Start rewiring your brain to include messages of positivity, possibility, curiosity, confidence and love.