Our thoughts and beliefs drive our actions. If we have negative thoughts, we respond in an unproductive way.

Thoughts like “I will never get this right,” can steal our energy and we give up. It can be helpful to convert that thought to a more positive one, “I am not good at this yet, but if I keep at it, I will be able to do it.”

Thoughts like “I’m wasting so much time in this traffic” can stress us and possibly lead us to road rage. Such thoughts can be converted to “I can’t do anything about the traffic, I can use this time to listen to a podcast.”
—
Doing this can be very helpful for the moment and we can overcome that negative thought. But it is only temporary – it’s just for this one time. It’s more helpful to get to the core of those negative thoughts and address the underlying issue.

Look for the patterns in the negative thoughts. There may be a running thread through all of them. We may find that many are about a feeling of insecurity or overwhelm or not enough time. We may recognize patterns of trying to minimize other people’s successes or blaming others for our own mistakes.

Armed with this self-awareness, we can work to address the core issue.

(As you recognize a negative thought, you can keep a journal or voicenote to yourself. The more you collect, the better you’ll see patterns.)