Episode 27 – Two little known ways to snap out of a negative mindset
How often do you find yourself feeling low on energy, down on yourself or even worse – nothing seems to be going right for you? The bottom line is this: how you think ultimately shapes your reality.
It’s time to snap out a negative mindset!
How’s this possible?
Your thoughts repeated over time turn into a decision. This decision will become a habit. This habit will become behavior. This behavior will start to define your character and presence. This character trait and presence will start to attract specific situations into your life while repelling others. Interesting hey!
Oh no, am I stuck!?
Never fear; the best thing about life is you always get a second chance to start again – every day. Simply hijack your habits to your benefit – and ultimately create a new you!
How can I hijack my habits?
Here are two simple thought exercises that will hijack your habits. You can do these anywhere and they will help you to snap out of a negative mindset and towards a new you:
1. Express Gratitude
When you think about all the good that has happened in your life, you immediately feel all the positive emotions that come with those thoughts.
Here’s a simple exercise to do:
- Gratitude journal writing
How do I journal?
a) Find a pen and paper (or better yet, a journal)
Journals are better for creating a habit – and it’s organized.
b) Write down one thing that you are truly grateful for in your life.
As you write it, imagine, feel and relive all the positive emotions that are connected to it – in this moment you should be able to realize how lucky you are to be alive.
c) Try this for at least 1-2 more grateful moments in your life.
When you undergo this exercise you will start to appreciate all the love around you, the knowledge you hold, the passion you have and all your achievements. This activity is a sure fire way to snap you out of a negative mindset.
For me personally, I do this on a daily basis and focus in on awesome moments that happened in the day. Moments as simple as a phone call to mum and dad, arriving safely to and from work – even just being a human (and not a fly or a rock) is something to be grateful for.
What’s the other way to snap out of a negative mindset? Read on.
2. Forgiveness
Often the harshest critic in life is you.
It’s easy to go through life and be critical of your decisions and actions – for making mistakes, saying the wrong thing or even forgoing action on something you should of have done but didn’t (read: regret).
To forgive yourself simply do this exercise:
- Self-talk – Have a good one-on-one conversation with yourself. Yes, it seems crazy but bear with me!
How to have a constructive self-talk session:
a) First off tell yourself to accept what you have done (or has happened) and move on.
It’s important to let go of what happened in the past and accept it. Failure does not make you a bad person. Learn from the mistakes you made and let go of the past. From here on, start life again. Every day is a chance to begin again. Also, if you need to approach the person you did wrong, go for it and, ask for their forgiveness. Closure is important.
When you become aware of this and consistently practice forgiveness, the easier it will be to forgive yourself and move on with your life. This applies to the forgiveness of others as well.
b) During the self-talk session identify the key moment (or turning-point) for action and what cues to look for in case it occurs again.
It might be useful to close your eyes and visualise the scenario – replay it in your mind as often as needed.
c) Work on an ideal plan of action in case the moment presents itself again.
Again this would involve visual mental imagery. This time you’ll have to create the new desired scenario in your mind.
d) Practice some mental visual imagery to install the new choice into your habit.
This will involve mentally rehearsing the situation again and again in visual imagery until it becomes clear. Personally, I’ve done this for years and it’s been a great tool for me becoming an international athlete. It’s not only useful in sports but for day-to-day moments as well.
Snap out of a negative mindset
Life is way too amazing to dwell on the past, put yourself down or even feel bad. Get out there, be grateful that you are awesome, start feeling and living gratitude every day and most importantly, forgive yourself – it’s okay if you made mistakes – just start again. Follow these steps and you’ll surely snap out of a negative mindset.
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- My PURITY Protocol is an amazing resource packed with 6 secrets to detox your life and supercharge your energy. It’s my personal wellbeing philosophy. Check it out here.
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- Want live coaching? Click here to contact me. I look forward to working with you soon.
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-Yosh Ginsu thank you for the photo
Bibliography
- Afremow, J. (2013) The Champion’s Mind. Rodale
- Boulmetis, J. Dutwin, J. (2011) The ABCs of Evaluation: Timeless techniques for program and project managers (3rd Ed.) Jossey-Bass.
- Cosgrove, F. (2007) Coach Yourself to Wellness: Living the Intentional Life. Messenger Publishing.
- De Bono, E. (2008) Six Frames for thinking about information. Vermilion London
- Hill, N. (2004) Think and Grow Rich: The 21st Century Edition. Manjul Publishing House
- Hill, N. (2008) The law of success – Complete. BN Publishing
- Holli, B, Calabrese, R. Maillett, J. (2003) Communication and education skills for Dietetics Professionals (4th Ed.) Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins
- Kahneman, D (2011) Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Levitin, D. (2014) The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload. Plume Printing
- Maxwell, J. (2012) The 15 invaluable laws of growth: Live them and reach your potential. Center Street
- O’Connor, J. Seymour, J. (1990) Introducing NLP: Psychological skills for understanding and influencing people. Thorsons
Chris Everingham lives and breathes health & fitness.
Hi, I’m Chris Everingham.
I’m sharing the holistic performance secrets that I both personally used to overcome racial scrutiny, escape poverty and depression, AND taught others so that they too could bring proven success and happiness into their lives.
Learn more about my time competing in international sports, in front of media and speaking with live audiences of thousands of people to discover my high performance secrets. Click here to grow your mindset, rewire your habits and transform your life.
