How To Overcome Negative Thoughts so You can Succeed in Your Life Goals
Updated: Jun 13, 2022
How do you overcome negative thoughts in your mind? These come up as doubtful messages or unsupportive dialogue that keeps you from achieving your life goals. It's like your evil twin that doesn't want you to succeed.
You may have experienced, as most everyone does, that when you come up against a challenging or uncomfortable situation there are thoughts that invade your mind and begin to cast doubt on your abilities. These thoughts may also take you down a path of the worst case scenario.
To reduce the impact, or interrupt the course that these negative thoughts create, you have to practice a strategy that will build confidence and start supporting you to succeed in your life goals.
When Doubts Become Automatic Negative Thoughts
Have you noticed that when a doubt enters your mind it sometimes snowballs into a negative storm cloud that hovers over you for hours? It builds on one negative thought after another. Then you find yourself being drawn down this path that has you experiencing anger, resentment, worry, frustration, and other negative emotions.
If you continue to let these thoughts control you then eventually it takes over the afternoon, or even several days. This isn't productive and supportive. It doesn't make you a fun person to be around either.
How Can You Change Your Path And Begin To Achieve Your Goals
To change the path that negative thoughts drag you down, you need to cut it off at the fork in the road. Here you have the option of heading into a pool of frustration, anger, worry and sadness; or choosing an alternative of support and start to achieve your goals.
In order to choose a better path you have to build awareness around what the driver or agitator is that pushes you in this direction. Often this is connected to words, actions or feelings.
When Feeling Uncomfortable Focus On Building Awareness
When you're faced with a situation that's challenging or makes you feel uncomfortable you maybe using words like can't or won't. The action to follow might be tension in your jaw or touching your face. The feeling can be anxiousness, or confusion.
Once you become aware of how you react to uncomfortable situations, you can begin to change the words, actions and feelings that follow. You do this by understanding why you brought yourself to this state. It maybe uncertainty of whether you can do it, or being unprepared for what just happened.
Many have plans laid out in their mind of how things should go. When they don't play out as they hoped, they get upset. This is because their plan wasn't flexible enough to allow for interruptions or setbacks.
Be More Productive By Changing Your State
At the point where you become aware of this shift in your state, you need to interrupt it with a positive alternative. If you hear yourself saying the words, "I can't," continue with "what if I could?" If your jaw begins to get tense, yawn or massage your jaw bone. When you feel anxious, take a deep breath, or change your physiology by standing up and then touching you toes.
When you interrupt the path that negative thoughts take you down, by using these practices, you end up stopping the doubt and unsupportive talk. Instead you become more productive and nurture a positive attitude. You also become far nicer company to be around, even if it's just you that's the company.
Christine Hourd is a certified professional success and leadership life Coach, located in Calgary, Alberta. She works with professionals, online and in-person, who want to change their mindset and enjoy more positive experiences. Contact Christine to find out how Accountability Coaching can help you make progress in your goals.
