How to challenge your overthinking

Strengthening your mindset

Strengthening our mindset is so key to helping combat our thoughts. Often people say: If you think something is going to go wrong, then it probably will. Just like, if you think something is going to go well, then it probably will too!

Where we focus our energy and awareness can have a huge impact on how we then perceive things that happen. There is no denying that life can be a real challenge at times and it is natural to have negative thoughts and emotions. It’s what we then do with these thoughts that make all the difference. Do we let them consume us and eat into our minutes, hours and days? Or do we acknowledge them and find a way to continue with our day without the thoughts consuming and following us like a shadow?

When I first started becoming aware of my mindset, I could not believe how many negative thoughts were racing through my mind on any given day.

To start getting to grips with it and begin creating some positive change for myself, I followed the process that I am going to share with you and over time it made a huge difference to my resilience, head-space and general well-being. 

Challenge yourself

I invite you to challenge yourself over the next week.

Days one and two -  To begin with, spend one to two days just being aware of your thoughts. Keep a notepad or your phone with you and begin to tally up every time you perceive your thoughts to be negative thoughts. It takes some practice to keep remembering, but just do the best you can and it will get better the more you make a conscious effort to do this.

Days three and four - For the next couple of days, start to acknowledge the negative thoughts that creep in. You can make a note of them if it helps or just make a mental note that you’re aware of them and acknowledge them. It’s important not to judge them - they are simply just thoughts and nothing else, just be aware of them.

Days five and six - For days 5 & 6 follow the steps you have been practising so far - being aware of your thoughts and acknowledging them.

Now, we are going to take this a step further. Every time a negative thought creeps into your mind, become aware of it, acknowledge it and then find a way to make it more helpful to you.

Creating a kinder thought that actually helps or challenges you rather than hinders you.

For example if you were thinking negative thoughts such as: “I can’t get going today - I am so slow at getting things done. I am rubbish at my job.”

Lets reframe this to something that could help us.

When we instead acknowledge this and work on reframing it to a more helpful and positive sentence, we might get something like:

“I am taking my time today, knowing I am learning more along the way and continually improving within my job role”.

It never hurts to be curious with yourself and challenge yourself too, by asking yourself curious questions like “What has made today seem like a slower day?”, and “What could I put in place to feel more energised?”.

If you give this a try, I would love to hear how you find it. Believe me, it takes a lot of practice but can also have a huge impact on your well-being.

Have you been surprised by the thoughts that have crept in? Remember just start with small changes that over time make the biggest impact.