Change

Beginning a behavior change is hard; continuing through change gets easier. 

Change in general is hard. Depending on the difficulty of the change, it could take 3 weeks to nearly a year to make a new behavior part of your lifestyle.  Many times when people decide to change their lifestyle, they try to change all of it at once. This can be overwhelming and near impossible.  Additional attempts can leave you questioning your willpower, ability, and yourself. 

I’ve categorized negative thoughts into 4 themes:

Extremes – You can only see the “black or white” in a situation.  In actuality, there are, in most cases, unlimited scenarios .

Excuses – Blaming others or a situation for our choices.

Doom and Gloom – You focus on one side of the situation, generally the negative.

Correlational – You compare yourself to others then label yourself accordingly.

How do you turn negative thoughts upside down and make them positive? 

STOP!  When negative thoughts flood your brain, just stop.  Pause what you are doing. Recognize the thought and where it came from.  It’s helpful to picture an image that reminds you to put on the brakes.

BREATHE!  Once you take ownership of the negative thought, promptly take a few deep breaths to cleanse and refuel your brain.  Deep breathing extends the pause, floods your body and brain with oxygen and allows you to think more clearly.

REPHRASE!  At this moment, your brain can function more efficiently.  Rephrase your thoughts into helpful, positive thoughts. Writing them down, in a journal perhaps, can be beneficial for future reference.

Now that you have boosted your confidence with positive self-talk, it’s time to take action!  Pick 1 easy goal; a change that you know you can make with few or no barriers.  Taking that first step. Making one small step at a time is key to success.  Once you have victory over that behavior, move on to the next challenge.  Step after step, change after change, success after success builds a solid foundation for a future of healthy behaviors.  Trust the process. Enjoy the journey!

You can’t think your way into better action.  You have to act your way into better thinking.

– Bitten Jonsson