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How to Reduce Negative Thoughts · RiseUp - Live Joy Your Way

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Today's episode is produced by my friends at Walk West.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: If you're looking to grow your brand and generate leads through podcast or video production, head over to walkwest.com.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's start the show.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: Rise up, live joy your way.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: From emotional intelligence through cognitive distortions, certified life and wellness coach Comedy Wood is on a mission to help people see the magnificence of their own unique human spirit.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: Through these small bites of self-visualization and self-confidence, you can have healthy relationships, success in business and career, and live the life you want to live.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: Rise up, live joy your way.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Hi there and welcome to another episode of Rise Up, Live Joy Your Way.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Whether it's morning, afternoon, or evening, I appreciate you and appreciate you taking some time out of your day to spend here with me.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: So over the past couple of weeks, um, something has come up routinely in conversations with my clients, and it's just around catching those negative thoughts that seem to take over, um, take over our mindset.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: So I just wanted to take today's episode to just talk about this.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it's not so much about stopping negative thoughts, because the truth is if we try to stop them, uh, we actually are focusing more on them.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: But it is about recognizing that we do, we do have thousands of thoughts a day, um, and we do have the ability to choose which thoughts we're going to put our efforts into and our energies into.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Our emotions and thoughts are just, they are interlinked.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Whether we um recognize it or not, it'll oftentimes uh we'll have a thought which creates an emotion, or an emotion which will create a thought.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: So when we have a negative thought, uh oftentimes that can wreak um havoc on us because if we have the negative thought and it creates a feeling that we then pay attention to and really buy into and put our energy into, the actions we take and the results that end up happening are might not be exactly what we want to have happen.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
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  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, if we have a negative thought and we start to feel anxious, um, maybe that triggers our um, you know, uh somewhat of a low self-esteem or the inability to um to really connect with ourselves, we might take an action that then is detrimental to us overall.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: So when we're when we talk about negative thoughts and this concept of overcoming them or stopping them, it's really actually not about pushing them away.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's about recognizing them, recognizing and becoming aware that they're there, getting curious and compassionate with them ever so slightly, and also developing strategies to recognize and give ourselves permission to say, yes, I'm having that thought, but without that thought, everything is actually okay.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: So, what's another possible thought that I might be able to access?
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: Because what happens if we really were to track it, a negative thought will come from either a fixed mindset or maybe that pessimistic attitude, the negativity bias, whatever it may be that leads us to those thoughts.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: And that inner chatter can really, I mean, the truth is our inner chatter is constantly happening and can happen at any time.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: So if we just recognize um, you know, when when that inner chatter is coming up and it's actually maybe keeping us from moving forward, we're able to make the choice for ourselves, we're able to pay attention to that inner dialogue.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: We're we can recognize, wow, this inner dialogue's not very helpful right now.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's um, you know, in and when we lean into self-compassion and we're like, okay, that's curious that that's happening, and that's not very nice of me to say that.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: How could I potentially shift myself into another accessible thought that it also feels possible, right?
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: So it's not, it's not saying, oh, I'm having this negative thought that I'm, you know, the worst cook in the world.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so now I'm gonna have this other thought that says I'm the best cook in the world.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's just recognizing, huh, I'm being really critical about my cooking skills.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: The truth is I'm learning, right?
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: So now we're just shifting it ever so slightly.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: The truth is I'm learning new ways of cooking and new ways of approaching um making a meal.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: Pessimistic thoughts truly can hold us back because what happens is when we buy into those pessimistic thoughts or those negative thoughts, we're really um starting to take on limiting beliefs about ourselves, right?
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: So we have the negative thought, it creates an emotion, and then what ends up happening is they get shift into um shifted into maybe uh anxiety or depression or just these really negative beliefs about self that maybe I'm not good enough or I can't possibly do this or I don't belong or what whatever the false belief or limiting belief may have.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: So it can truly hold us back from moving forward.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: So being able to shift that that voice, right?
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Being able to recognize we're having it and start to um implement ways of slowing down.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: So for instance, having that thought, recognizing it, taking a pause, literally just taking a pause, breathing for a second, getting present in this current moment with yourself, um, which is a form of mindfulness, right?
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: So we're pausing, we're taking a breath, we're getting grounded in self, we're in this present moment.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: And it's recognizing without the thought, that negative thought that I'm having, am I okay right now?
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: Am I safe right now?
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: And that is a way that we can slow down the energy that we're putting into the negative thought.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, one of the things that I have really started to work on and and I've actually integrated into my practice is just offering breath work classes because, truth be told, breathing is our life force, right?
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: So if we're able to implement really conscious breathing in the moment, like we're being, you know, overtaken by negative thoughts, it's shift the attention just for the moment into just your your breathing, into the in and the out breath.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: What that does is it shifts the focus to that, it quiets the inner chatter that is contributing to those negative thoughts.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: And as I mentioned before, it's awareness, right?
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  SPEAKER_00: When we become aware, we then have that doorway where we can say, What would we like to do with this awareness now?
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: So we're bringing the unconscious to the conscious.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of times negative thoughts will end up being on autopilot.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: So it's about giving ourselves permission to recognize it, become aware of it, and then we get to choose.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: We get to choose what we're gonna do with that thought.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: And this really involves a lot of compassion and curiosity with ourselves too.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's giving ourselves permission to recognize what's coming up for ourselves, um, getting curious, what's this about, perhaps, or just being compassionate and saying, wow, that's not very nice.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, how how else would I like to talk to myself?
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, what's also true about me is another great centering question.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: So we could have the negative thought about self, and then it's and what's actually also true about me.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: So if the negative thought happens to be um something like, I'm I'm not the smartest person, I'm I'm you know, um I hear this a lot with my clients is I feel stupid.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's and what's also true?
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm also constantly willing to learn.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: So now we had that negative thought, we become aware of it, and we can ask, well, what's also true about me, what's also true about me is I am constantly willing to learn.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: And then we can actually make the choice that that's the thought that we're going to put our energy into and focus on.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: If you'd ever like to chat more about negative thoughts or other things that might be coming up in your world, absolutely feel free to book a time to speak with me at chatwithcomedy.com.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: And until next time, stay well.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for listening to Rise Up, Live Joy Your Way.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: For more information, book a chat with comedy at www.chatwithcomedy.com or visit her website at www.comedywood.com.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: You can also find comedy on Facebook or Instagram.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: Username it's authentic me.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for listening.