![]() Chose some statements to replace the old messages with and affirm these to yourself on a regular basis. ![]() Lastly, think of ways to feed your mind with positive things. Its up to you! Feed your thoughts – Think of a sponge Be prepared to simply turn some channels off. Decide which ones to turn the volume up and down on. Choose the thought channels that you want to tune in to. Once you realise that you have the remote control right there in your hand (something guys always love!) you can take charge. Direct your thoughts – Think of a remote control Weeds will never grow into beautiful flowers so protect your mind by protecting the seeds you allow to be planted there. These are like the seeds that will start your train of thought. You chose the sorts of messages you read in books/ magazines, the music you listen & TV you watch. You chose the sorts of people you spend time with and how much they influence you. Here are three practical steps to help improve your mental chatter: Monitor your thoughts – Think of a sieveīe aware of the external influences you allow in your life. “Gosh I’m stupid sometimes, I won’t ever make it, I’m too unfit/weak etc, I’m not good enough, They won’t like it/me/whatever…” We need to take control and hit the eject button and replace these old worn out tapes with positive messages that we choose to listen to! It can be like a negative cassette tape that keeps playing over and over in our mind. Often we have held thoughts for so long we are no longer aware of how much they do affect us. Sure, you may not be able to control the thoughts that spring up in your mind from time to time, however you can choose whether you continue to entertain them. This is great news! We can actually take control of our thoughts and determine the way our life turns out. Ultimately we determine our character by sum of our habits, which sets the course for the path of our lives. The things we say and do become our habits. The things we think and say affect the sorts of things that we do. What we think about affects the sorts of things that we say. Peace Pilgrim said “If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.” This starts with our thoughts which are incredibly powerful. How is your ‘thought life’ right now? Do you generally feel like you are in control of your life and have positive thoughts about yourself and the world around you? Or do you feel washed along by life and find that you beat yourself up with the messages you play over and over in your mind? Whatever we focus on increases in our lives. However, if you find yourself suffering a lot of mental anguish due to intrusive thoughts, therapy could be the solution.Did you know that we have over 60,000 thoughts every day and around 70% of these are the same thoughts as the day before? They can be very scary, but they can’t physically hurt you. You can have intrusive thoughts about anything, but just because you have them, it doesn’t mean they are true. Meditation is a great way to practise breathing and letting yourself, and your thoughts, be. Just take some deep breaths and let them come. Don’t try to counter them, or negate them in any way. It’s not easy, especially at the start, but try to sit with your thoughts and let them wash over you. Plus, you shouldn’t let anything stop you from doing the things you love! This only makes the worry seem more important in your mind – you’ve given it more validation – and will actually worsen any anxiety. But avoiding meeting your friends is not the answer. The more you worry about it, the more true the concern seems. For example, after meeting friends, you constantly worry that you have said something to upset them. You might find that you experience a certain intrusive thought when you are in a particular situation. That is not the case at all – you are not your thoughts, and thoughts are not always true. However, we spend too much time focusing on these thoughts and think because they are there, they must be true. Our brain is a complex organ, and it’s capable of putting the most random thoughts into our heads. We have over 6000 thoughts a day – and we aren’t in charge of the majority of them. Understand that you are not your thoughts If your intrusive thoughts are getting in the way of your life, we advise speaking to a therapist, but there are also some self-help things you can do. Some of these intrusive thoughts can be a sign of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), but not everyone who has intrusive thoughts has OCD. thinking what if I didn’t turn the stove off, despite already checking). what if my friend is annoyed at me?) to thoughts that could be considered irrational (e.g. ![]() These can vary from typically anxious thoughts (e.g. Intrusive thoughts can be any kind of thought that is stuck in your mind.
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