13 Destructive Thought Habits. Not lucky.
Habits. We have a ton.
When’s the last time you put a spotlight on them and brought awareness to your habit minutia?
How about doing it with me today? Let’s start with our thoughts. Come on — it’ll be fun ;)
You know why it’s important? Because your everyday thought patterns are driving those habits which impacts how you show up for yourself all.the.time.
Here’s a couple examples of how repetitive thoughts reinforce both goodand unhealthy habits:
Thought: ‘I am afraid I won’t get this overwhelming amount of work done this week!’
This thought habit reinforces how you will move through your week which is likely to feel disempowered, afraid, and anxious.
Will you get the work done even if you think this? Probably. But will you get the work done easier and more relaxed when you challenge your thought habit to think something like this instead?
New thought: ‘I have a packed schedule this week and I’m going to relax, stay present, and simply do my best. I’ve had challenging weeks like this before and gotten through them and this is really no different.’
Check in with yourself. How did you feel when you read the first thought? And the second?
Here’s another example:
Thought: ‘I get so stressed out because I’m always late and everyone is always waiting for me!’
This may be truth yet it’s also something you don’t have to give up control about.
New thought: ‘I have decided to take a good look at why I am often late and I commit to taking a proactive stance moving forward.’
Or hell, maybe you’re not ready to take a good look at this habit so your new thought could be: ‘I choose to be late and I’m no longer going to stress about it.’
Perhaps a little reverse psychology but why not? Sometimes we’re not ready to change something (even when it’s in our best interest) so what’s the point of stressing about it?
Beating ourselves up and ‘stressing’ never leads to easy or lasting habit change.
Ready to do this?
Pay attention to disempowering, stressful, and stuck thinking today. Here's 13 destructive thought habits:
Stress
Overwhelm
Worry
Anxious
Can’t
Try
Should
Afraid
Scared
Busy
Never
Always
I don't feel like it
What is a better way to think about your situation? Here’s some better thought habits to choose from:
Commit
Decide
Do/Don’t
Yes/no
Confident
Empower
Choose
Relax
Trust
Action
Focus
Challenge
Feel Like it
Do
Take the Habit Change Experiment! And here's the podcast that talks more about these faulty stories we make up about habit change.
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Bonus!
Get the tool I use every time my current situation feels heavy, stressful, or icky. It works like a champ to quickly turn it around and I am confident it will do that for you too. Get it here.
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