Challenge Your Negativity!

Negativity can consume us, especially during these tumultuous times. When you feel the surge of negative thinking, one thing you can do is address it head on. What is the root? Is it based on fact or just a feeling? Is it a story you are telling yourself--one you've told for decades?

For example, I have a client who is stuck in a negative thinking pattern. She is a mother of two little children under the age of three. She is also a caretaker for her father. She is overwhelmed and rightly so. But in her mind, because she doesn't have time to cook and clean, she believes that she is not a good enough mother or wife. When I asked her what would make her a good enough mother or wife, she told me being able to clean and cook. I told her she was describing a housekeeper, not necessarily a good wife and mother.

As the session went on, she started to understand that not cleaning or having a meal on the table every night at six doesn't make her a bad mother or wife. I reminded her that she's just exhausted from all her responsibilities. I suggested she silence her negative train of thought.

Once she silences her negativity, she can start to make room for thoughts that add to her life, not take away from it.

This is something we can all practice. I'm not saying it's easy, but it sure is worth a consistent effort.

One way we can start to do this is to remember to breathe. Stress can have us holding our breath and clenching our jaws. That is no way to live. So during the day, observe your breathing, your posture, and nervous little habits you may have developed as a way of coping. Be wary of negative thinking that can easily spiral.

Be mindful. Pay attention. Once you notice something, once there's a light on the problem, you have a chance to fix it.