17 October 2023

You're caught up in a cycle. You know the one. You've been talking down to yourself for a while. Every word in your mind points out your flaws and mistakes. You think you're going to go crazy from listening to it if you haven't already.

Negative self-talk can be incredibly harmful. It seeps in slowly, often starting with previous negative experiences or input from others. Once it's in your head, it can play on repeat, growing louder and more harmful each time. This can lead to quitting your dreams and doing very little. It's important to take your life back and put an end to negative self-talk. 

Is this easier said than done? Not necessarily. Try these following methods and see for yourself:

Find the Calm

First, you can’t combat anything when you’re overly emotional and overwhelmed mentally. Find a quiet place and sit down to take a few deep breaths. If you can, meditate or try a mindfulness exercise until you can reach a peaceful place internally.

When you meditate and work with our breath, you can:

• Bring peace into your life in many ways.

• You can clear your mind and find stillness.

• You can connect with your breath and your body in a deeper way.

• You can release tension and stress.

• You can cultivate compassion and insight.

• You can develop a more positive outlook on life. 

All these things lead to a more peaceful and joyful existence.

Take Note of What You’re Thinking

Don’t avoid negative thoughts. Listen to it. What is it saying? Whose voice does it sound like?

When you take note of what you say to yourself, you may find that you become more positive and optimistic as you become more aware of the negative self-talk that would otherwise bring you down. This can lead to better decision making, increased productivity, improved relationships, and better physical health. You may also find that you are more forgiving of yourself and others.

Dig into the Roots

Now ask yourself what the thought represents. Where did this come from? Is this from an expectation you put on yourself at some point, or does it come from someone else entirely?

If you can work out where your negative thoughts or expectations had stemmed from originally and why, there are some positive outcomes for you as follows:

• You may be able to work out a way to avoid those thoughts happening again in future.

• You will have a greater understanding of yourself and how your thoughts work.

• You may be able to find more effective coping mechanisms for dealing with negative thoughts.

• You will learn more about how to manage your thoughts overall.

• You may develop a more positive outlook on life as a result.

Drop the Unreasonable Expectation

Are you trying too hard to be perfect in some regard? Is there a more reasonable expectation you can put on yourself in the place of this thought?

If you replace an undesired expectation of yourself with a more reasonable expectation, you are likely to:

• Be more successful in achieving your goals.

• Be happier with yourself and your life.

• Be more productive.

• Be more likely to stick to your goals.

• Be less likely to experience anxiety or depression.

Turn It Around

What is the positive counterpoint to this thought? For example, if you’re worried about how bad you are with money, remind yourself of a time when you saved up for something you wanted, or think about a time when you paid off a debt and how good it felt afterward.

By doing this yourself:

• You learn to forgive yourself.

• You learn to see the situation in a new light.

• You learn to trust yourself again.

• You learn to be vulnerable again.

• You learn to love yourself again despite previous experiences.

Create a Habit

If this thought is one which comes around often, what is the new thought you want to replace it with? How can you make this thought a habit? Consider this: the more you react in a new way to an old stimulus, the quicker a new habit is formed, and the old reaction disappears.

By identifying an old thought and replacing it with a new thought instantly as a habit:

• You feel better instantly.

• Your mood improves.

• You are more productive.

• You attract better things into your life.

• You create a more positive reality for yourself. 

And by turning that new thought into a habit you are more likely to achieve your goals, feel happier, be healthier, sleep better, and have more energy.

Just Stop

In the end, the only way to get rid of a negative thought is to consciously put a halt to it. You can do this by acknowledging the thought, and then consciously deciding to let it go. Once you’ve gone through these steps, tell yourself to stop when the idea comes up again, and keep telling it to stop until it goes away completely.

Please note: It's important to remember that you don't have to listen to negative thoughts and feelings, especially if they seem overwhelming. If you feel like you can't shake negative thoughts on your own, reach out to a trusted friend or counselor for help. Talking about what's going on can be incredibly helpful in putting these negative thoughts to rest.

Hey there – have you been struggling to push past that latest personal barrier where negative self-talk is taking over not only your mood but your world too? Often our negative self-talk is all tied to what we do on a daily basis for ourselves in our lives. Having a happy life is a 'rinse and repeat' process once you learn how to do so. So why not try out GrowthDay today to help you along? Give that negative self-talk a kick! GrowthDay is an all-in-one app that cultivates happiness and positive self-growth thinking through daily audio and weekly live events. There’s even the option to journal inside GrowthDay, do daily life-scores, challenges and more! Give the 14 day FREE trial a go today. You'll be pleased you did!