You Can Shift Your Thoughts

It was found that the average person has about 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day. Of those thousands of thoughts, 80% were negative, and 95% were exactly the same repetitive thoughts as the day before.– National Science Foundation.

Depressing, right?! It’s like we are living in a funk-like groundhogs day, everyday!

Why do we live like this? 

We attach to negative thoughts to protect us and keep us safe. These come from past-based experiences (when we were little) where we felt unsafe, unloved, abandoned, or afraid. We cling to “not enough” stories about ourselves and those thoughts repeat themselves day in and day out. It becomes our default way of being. 

We don’t have to be stuck like this! We can break free from this hamster wheel. It takes something to do this but boils down to these three simple steps:

1. Strengthen your awareness
Now that we know we are swirling in our past-based negative thoughts and stories, we don’t have to be stuck with them. Keep noticing them and be curious about them. Don’t judge yourself for having these thoughts. Just notice them. It can be uncomfortable. Breathe through the discomfort and become acquainted with your thoughts… and ultimately a deeper part of yourself.

2. Choose a new story
It sounds simple, but we really get to choose new thoughts. We can let go of the past-based, disempowering stories and create empowering ones for ourselves. This is the process of creating new neural pathways to rewire our brain. Over time, the new thoughts will become our new way of operating. But for now, it takes an active choice to make it happen.

3. Take aligned action
When we shift our perspective, we can see new actions to take. This could be in our business, creative venture, relationships, or any area of life. We can take new action that is aligned with who we choose to become. Taking aligned action from who we really are, builds our new identity. People will notice that you are showing up differently.

It’s simple yet revolutionary to know we can create the course of our lives by shifting our perspective.

Practice these steps everyday and let’s change those stats! 

Photo from the book, Things No One Else Can Teach Us, by Humble the Poet.