Negative thoughts

Happy Friday Everyone! 

 

Today I want to talk about the voices in your head- specifically when it comes to trying to achieve something or do something that you’ve never done before.

 

The harsh reality is that when we are trying to do something new or different or step outside of our comfort zone, our interval voices are always going to be negative. They will always tell us what we can’t do. 

 

These voices tend to stop you from trying new things or reaching new goals. So I would like to share with you what I have learned how to combat these negative voices that hold you back. 

 

Step 1: Recognize them. Watch for them and acknowledge them. Recognize that this is your brain trying to protect you.

Step 2: Ask yourself “what if the opposite was true?” Don’t assume that every thought that pops into your head is accurate or even reality.

Step 3: Brainstorm on how you can close the gap between your initial negative thinking and the opposite from step 2.

 

Let me show you a real-life scenario to help fully illustrate what I mean:

 

Dr. A is thinking about expanding his Ortho practice to include a second office in a neighboring city. Every time he considers this, he is engulfed in negative thoughts: 

• You don’t have the business acumen to do something like that. 
• It’s going to be such a hassle.
• You are already so busy, you don’t have time to do that. 
• It’s hard enough keeping one office together and now you want to do two?

 

Rather than just giving up on the idea and going on with life, he recognizes these thoughts as his brain trying to protect him. He writes them all down on a piece of paper and then moves to step 2. 

 

Dr. A asks himself what if the opposite was true? 

• What if I did have the business acumen to handle that expansion? 
• What if it isn’t a hassle?
• What if I did have the time. 
• What if maintaining one office wasn’t a challenge and it is easy to handle two offices?

 

As he asks himself these questions he imagines what it would be like to have two offices. He starts getting excited about the possibilities. He adds kindling to the little spark of an idea for expansions and the fire of determination starts to grow. 

 

Next, he takes it one step further by asking himself how he can make the “opposites” a reality. 

• How can I obtain the business acumen I need to expand?
• Who do I need to hire to help make the expansion hassle-free?
• What am I doing now with my time that can be adjusted to free up time for my goals?
• How can I make maintaining one office easy so that I can duplicate the process for two offices?

 

Dr. A has overcome the negative thoughts and feels brave enough to try to reach his goals.

 

Pretty awesome, right??

 

Let’s consider this as it relates to your team. Your team members also have negative thoughts. When you ask them to do something that they have never done before or do their job in a different way than what they’ve been doing for 20 years, automatically they will have negative voices telling them they can’t do it or it won’t work. 

 

When you ask them to do something, back it up with positive encouragement. Help them see what the “opposites are”. Let them know that even though it is new, you have confidence in them and their ability to accomplish what you are asking. You believe in them. You know they can do it. Sometimes just hearing that you recognize that something will be hard or challenging but that you also know they can do it will make all the difference in their success. Essentially you are giving them another voice to listen to instead of the negative voice in their head.

 

That’s it for today. I hope that you will be able to not only recognize the negative thoughts that pop up for you but that you now have some tools to battle those thoughts. 

 

To your success!