Negative thoughts, self-doubt, and limiting beliefs can often feel like unwelcome guests in our minds, undermining our confidence and holding us back from reaching our full potential. However, with the right strategies, it’s possible to overcome these challenges and cultivate a more positive mindset. Here are some practical steps to help you on this journey.
Identifying Negative Thoughts.
Identifying negative thoughts and doing something about them is one of the most difficult things to do. We have so many of them that seem like facts. And we have cemented them into our subconscious mind our entire lives. Being able to get rid of them will take time and conscious effort. In fact, most of the time we do not recognize them as negative thoughts.
When we think negative thoughts, our subconscious mind looks for the proof we need to validate these thoughts. You will see the proof all over the place even if the actual proof is false. So, this will become your perspective on the subject. When changing your thoughts to more positive ones you will begin to see the proof on the positive side, and this will change your perspective to a positive one. Life is a series of events that are neither positive nor negative, but how you perceive them becomes your outlook.
Your subconscious mind is a library of everything you have ever experienced whether you remember them or not. When you consciously try to find a solution to a problem with your conscious mind you are limited by what you can remember at the time. But your subconscious mind is not limited to what you remember because it remembers everything. So maybe you heard the solution to your particular problem or saw it written in something you read, but you don’t exactly remember it. If you give your brain a chance to do its job it may come up with the solution from the library of thoughts and bring it to your conscious mind. But you have to give your mind the permission to look for the solution by providing the possibility that there is a solution.
Self-doubt is Negative Thinking Pointed at Yourself.
Self-Doubt is you telling yourself that you are incapable of doing something or you are not worthy of something. And when you think these things, it makes it impossible for you to succeed. You will manifest obstacles to your success. You will see the world as overwhelming and not be able to focus on the solution or the motivation to achieve the desired result.
Self-doubt has everything to do with the “I can” attitude. Anything that goes against this mantra is self-doubt and should be gotten rid of. That way you can truly live up to your potential.
Limiting Beliefs.
Limiting beliefs are negative thoughts or assumptions that prevent people from reaching their full potential. These beliefs can be about yourself, others, or the world, and come from past experiences, societal norms, or your upbringing. They hinder progress in pursuing your goals, forming healthy relationships, or making changes in their lives.
These limiting beliefs can lead to anxiety, procrastination or imposter syndrome. You may not even be aware of the limiting beliefs that you have. They can be formed without awareness and act as filters for you perception of events and affect your decision-making abilities. They can also act as a defense mechanism avoiding negative emotions like frustration, anger, or sadness.
Some examples of Limiting Beliefs include:
- “I am not smart enough.”
- “I will probably fail.”
- “They won’t choose me.”
- “I don’t have what it takes.”
Some solutions the above examples:
- “I can learn what I need to know.”
- “I will succeed.”
- “I will be the top choice.”
- “I will do whatever it takes.”
One Way to Get Rid of Negative Thoughts.
- The first step in overcoming negative thoughts is to recognize that they are in fact negative thoughts and when these thoughts arise. Becoming aware of these thoughts will allow you to start changing them.
- Analyze the negative thought, self-doubt or limiting belief. Where does it come from? Why do I think this? What is the reason behind this thought?
- Then we need to formulate a course of action to get rid of them. Each negative thought will require you to think through an answer specific to it. Like changing “I can’t” into “I can” or “How can I?” Or create a mantra or affirmation for the times that they come into your mind.
- Take the course of action that you have decided on and implement it. It will take effort and consistency to mitigate these thoughts. Each and every time that thought enters your mind change it into the positive one.
- It will take time to get rid of them one by one. Each one you get rid of will build a foundation for a more positive mindset.
- Visualize your success, write down your goals, solutions to problems, and actions that you plan to take when things go wrong, because it is never easy, and things will go wrong. Make a plan.
Examples:
Like “I have tried everything” but have you really. Of all the possibilities in this world, you have tried everything. This was said by a young lady speaking about having migraine headaches. Saying these negative things tells your brain that there is no solution, so she continues to suffer with these headaches. Her subconscious mind does not look for an answer and even if the answer was staring her right in the face, she would not be able to recognize it. But if she would change her thoughts to looking for a solution to these headaches there is a possibility that she would be able to find one.
“I hate this job!” will make you hate everything about that job. You will see all the bad and all the problems instead of focusing on the good and the solutions. You will not be able to enjoy it even though you may actually like all the things that the job encompasses. You project the hate into the world and the world reflects back the hate to you. You will want to leave all the time, and everything will seem bad. But if you were to change and say, “I Love My Job!” every morning your job would become better in all aspects, and you would be putting out positive energy and the universe would return that positive energy to you.