Did you know that your brain can process over 60,000 thoughts per day? Are we aware of all thoughts that process through our mind? How many are we aware of? 100? 200? More?
From the minute we open our eyes for our day we immediately start to process thoughts. For example:
“Take a shower”
“Brush Teeth”
“What will I have for breakfast?”
“What a beautiful morning!”
“Time to wake the kids.”
Out of all of the thoughts that we process through our minds, roughly two-thirds to three-fourths are negative thoughts. Everything from “I’ll never finish this on time” to “I look fat in this”. Whether it’s big or small, negative thoughts will take a toll on our subconscious and eventually our conscious thinking. Negative thoughts can undermine our ability to do what we would like and to feel good about what we are doing.
For example, one morning I awoke to the lovely sounds of birds chirping and sun rays glowing in from between the blind slats. I immediately thought to myself, “what a beautiful morning!” As I rolled over to check the time I realized I had slept through my alarm and was 35 minutes late getting ready for work. I bolted upright in bed, threw off the covers and hurriedly climbed out of bed nearly sprinting to the bathroom to begin my rushed day, thinking to myself “great! Now the whole day will be one big rush!”. The morning proceeded in a panic; the clothes I thought about wearing were not dry, my hair was not cooperating, I burnt my toast, etc…
As I was driving to work, I hoped I would make every green light on the way. Naturally every light I approached turned red. Once I pulled into the office parking lot, found a parking space and put the car in park, I looked at the time and realized that I was actually 10 minutes early! “Phew!” I thought to myself. I looked in the rearview mirror (last minute double check on my hair and make up) and I saw wrinkled lines and a straight line across my lips, not a very friendly way to walk into a spa-like atmosphere in a Chiropractic office. I closed my eyes took several deep breaths and I decided that by reflecting, re-framing and recommitting I was going to take back the control of my day.
Using these three steps to re-frame my mind not only changed my whole attitude for the day, it also helped me de-stress, effectively handle different stressors through the day and overall I felt satisfied and good about myself. By the time I got through the work day and was at home, I exalted a great deal of accomplishment and pride for I had a great day!
REFLECT:
Take a moment to perform an objective assessment of the situation. You might be thinking “Ill never make it to work on time” or “I’ll never get this project completed on time!”. Think to yourself, “Will the world stop turning? Will I be marked as lazy?” Chances are the answer is “No”. So now you move on to the next step.
RE-FRAME:
Decide how you will view the situation in a more rational or more productive way.
Would it be detrimental to postpone something you had intended to do?
If you’re worried about letting someone down, is that a rational fear?
(Remember, people are generally more forgiving of our human nature than we are of ourselves)
If you’re disappointed in yourself because you are not moving towards a goal, than stop and take the time to reflect on the progress you have made so far.
RECOMMIT:
Choose to recommit yourself to the vision you have for improving your day/situation/life. Refocus your energy on the actions you need to take to move towards that vision. Once you do, you won’t have time or energy to waste on what ISN’T working you will be consumed by thoughts on what IS working and how to proceed to the next step towards your ultimate goal.
So all in all, the moment you start to think those nasty negative thoughts or you start to feel like you are losing control of your day, go for a 10 minute walk or shut the door to your office, close your eyes and remember; Reflect, Re-frame and Recommit your mind, body and soul to positive thoughts and feelings to turn your day around!
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
To learn more about negative thinking please visit:
www.sentientdevelopments.com
To find helpful information about your specific way of negative thinking and suggestions on how to be a positive thinker please visit:
www.about.com/od/professionalhelp/a/distortions_2.htm
Megan Veenhuizen
Statistics provided by George Dvorsky: Canadian Futurist/Consultant
3 step process provided by: Applied Insight
Suggested positive thinking strategies provided by: About.com
