Sometimes it becomes necessary to talk back to that negative inner voice…
Drag your thoughts away from your troubles… by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it.
— Mark Twain
Every once in a while that nasty ol’ inner critic of mine talks trash – calling me names like “idiot” or going off on a “ain’t it awful” rant that demands an equally rude comeback: YOU TALKIN’ TO ME??? But I’m pretty sure such back-talk is only effective in the short run; what’s really required is a more permanent way to switch the inner-critic commentary from a rant to rave… Exactly HOW do we do that? I offer you two techniques:
- The first technique is called The Pavlina Swish and will require some mental gyrations as you sort through its five steps.
- The second technique which I’m calling Worrell’s Cognitive Restructuring, seems deceptively simple; so simple that you might question its efficacy. But do it and then see what happens.
Why bother? Well, in my last post we looked at research that advises: Finding and focusing on the positive, in a ratio of 5:1, is our best defense against discouragement, depression or worse. And so we explored two techniques for increasing the number of positive thoughts romping about your brain:
Today’s two techniques will help you get to the 5:1 ratio by reducing the number of negative thoughts running around in your brain.
Do the the “Pavlina Swish”…
Blogger Steve Pavlina suggests using his version of the NLP “Swish” technique to turn negative thoughts positive:
Step 1: Turn the negative thought into a mental image.
Take that little voice, and turn it into a corresponding mental picture. For example, if your thought is, “I’m an idiot,” imagine yourself wearing a dunce cap, dressed very foolishly, and jumping around like a dork. …The more you exaggerate the scene, the better. …Rehearse this scene over and over in your mind until you reach the point where thinking the negative thought automatically brings up this goofy imagery… If you have trouble visualizing, you can also do the above in an auditory fashion. Translate the negative thought into a sound, such as a jingle that you sing. Go through the same process with sound instead of imagery. It works either way…Step 2: Select an empowering replacement thought.
Now decide what thought you’d like to have instead of the negative one. So if you’ve been thinking, “I’m an idiot,” maybe you’d like to replace that with “I’m brilliant.” Choose a thought that empowers you in a way that disrupts the disempowering effect of the original negative thought.Step 3: Turn the positive thought into a mental image.
Now go through the same process you used in Step 1 to create a new mental scene from the positive thought. [such as] …you might imagine yourself standing tall, posing like Superman with your hands on your hips. Picture a giant light bulb appearing just above your head. The bulb turns on so bright that it’s blinding, and you see yourself yelling, “I’m bbbbbrrrrilllllllliannnntttt!”Step 4: Mentally chain the two images together.
Now take the images in Step 1 and Step 3, and mentally glue them together. …For example, one of the hecklers in the first scene might throw a light bulb at the idiot version of you. The idiot you catches the bulb and screws it into the top of his head, wincing at the pain. The bulb then grows into a giant bulb and turns on so bright it blinds all the hecklers. You rip off your dorky clothing to reveal a shining white robe beneath it. …Once you have the whole scene worked out, mentally rehearse it for speed. Replay the whole scene over and over until you can imagine it from beginning to end …ideally in under 1 second. It should be lightning fast…Step 5: Test.
Now you need to test your mental redirect to see if it works. It’s a lot like an HTML redirect — when you input the old negative URL, your mind should automatically redirect you to the positive one. Merely thinking the negative thought should rapidly bring up the positive thought. If you’ve done this correctly, you won’t be able to help it. The negative thought is the stimulus that causes your mind to run the whole pattern automatically. So whenever you happen to think, “I’m an idiot,” even without being fully aware of it, you end up thinking, “I’m brilliant.”[Edited by Ellie for inclusion in this post – for the full-detailed – and helpful - instruction see Pavlina’s blog post.]
Although this process may seem cumbersome and/or contrived at first, make the effort and I think you’ll find that instead of letting the mantra:“Hold that good thought” become just a prayer of petition, it’ll become a habit that “drags your thoughts away from your troubles…”
Roll with Worrell’s Cognitive Restructuring Two-Step Process…
Don’t let the term “cognitive restructuring” turn you off – it simply means that we all have the ability to use our brains to change our attitudes and viewpoints. In a WebMD feature article, journalist Susan Kuchinskas wrote about Danny Worrell who used this technique to switch from negative self talk to positive:
Danny Worrel paid in advance to have a load of firewood delivered. It was a handshake deal, but as the guy drove off, Worrel, a 57-year-old building engineer in Coupeville, Wash., said, “I just lost $150.” He was sure the woodsman would take off with the cash and never deliver. (Of course, the firewood promptly arrived.) …
Worrel now uses a technique called “cognitive restructuring.” Instead of sinking into pessimism, he asks himself whether any rational basis exists for a negative thought. If not, he forgets about it. He says, “I’ve realized we have control over whether that glass is half empty or half full.”
[Bolding by Ellie]
Such a simple formula:
- Ask if there is any rational, reasonable basis for the negative thought.
- And, if not – forget about it.
Could reducing the impact of negative thoughts really be that simple, that easy? If it works for you then the answer is a resounding Yes! But if you need a bit more substance to the “asking & forgetting” process, then consider reviewing one of my previous posts, The ABC’s of Optimism which will walk you, step by step, through a more structured example of the technique called “Cognitive Restructuring.”
How Well Will These Techniques Work for You?
You’ve done it before and you can do it now. See the positive possibilities. Redirect the substantial energy of your frustration and turn it into positive, effective, unstoppable determination.
— Ralph Marston
Give both techniques a whirl and see what happens. Let me know!
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