Your Thoughts Shape YOU
By: Kourtney Cannell
Our thoughts are important! How we talk to ourselves and how we think about things impacts how we feel. Have you ever looked in the mirror and said, “I look fat in this shirt.” How did that thought influence your mood? I’ll bet the rest of the day you might be placing negative thoughts towards yourself based on how you talked to yourself in the mirror.
We often will remind our members when they make a negative comment to themselves with this question:
“Would you talk to your best friend the way you are talking to yourself right now?”
The answer is always no.
Our thoughts play a huge role in how we feel, interact with others, and perceive the world around us. Our thoughts are literally the seeds that form our actions and behaviors every single day. If you start your day with negative thoughts, it is often very hard to turn that thought patterning around to positive ones.
Oftentimes, we might focus our thoughts on what is wrong or negative. Inaccurate thinking patterns lead us to see the worst possible outcomes to a situation. These distorted thoughts cause us to feel bad about ourselves and/or others. We all experience negative thoughts, but sometimes we get stuck in them and don’t see the pattern and how it hurts our emotional health and well-being.
This is a list of common inaccurate thinking patterns. Can you identify any of these patterns in yourself?
Common Inaccurate Thinking Patterns:
Inaccurate Thinking Pattern |
Description |
|
All Or Nothing |
Thinking only in absolutes. Seeing someone or something as all good or all bad (Binary Thinking) or looking for “always” or “never” |
|
Labeling |
Labeling yourself or others in terms such as “lazy”, “fat”, “stupid”. Stating these labels as facts. |
|
The Comparison Game |
Comparing yourself to others and needing to keep up with others to feel good or better about yourself. |
|
“Should” Statements |
Have pre-conditions on how you or others “should” be. |
My challenge for you is to recognize the pattern you use the most. Then from there, when you catch yourself in that inaccurate thinking pattern, pause for a moment and reflect on your feelings. Ask yourself “Does this make me feel worse or better in this moment?” Then, say something positive to yourself (this is the MOST important part!).
It could be as simple as you caught yourself labeling yourself as “fat” in the mirror. Instead, you look in the mirror and say, “look at my strong body. I can do things now that I couldn’t do before I started working out.” Try to be specific as possible on that positive attribute you want to highlight.
One of the hardest things to do is to actually NAME the pattern you are doing. Once you are able to identify, name and flip the switch to the positive you will feel and see the difference it will make on your day!
Give it a try, and let us know how it goes!
Come join us for our next round of the Epic 21 Day Challenge where we can help guide you with positive thoughts and actions and help you gain more confidence in yourself in the next 21 days than you ever have in the past! You can get all sorts of BONUSES for signing up now! Check it all out here:
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