How to Reject Your Negative Thinking Patterns

Your mind has been coming up with excuses to keep you from owning your future, and it has probably been doing so for a long time. As you become more self-aware, start identifying the slogans you have been repeating to yourself that have been chaining you down. We all have them. But go further than that and create new slogans that counter the bad ones. Craft these new slogans so that they put the true vision into perspective.

Write these new slogans down and keep them around you in places that will remind you of what is true and real. Put them on the backdrop on your phone. Place sticky notes on your bathroom mirror and refrigerator. When negative thoughts invade your mind, look at these notes. When you are doing ok, look at them anyway and keep yourself centered on reality. When you are doing the cognitive work of training your mind, the personal work of embracing reality, and being humble and forgiving, the presence of these new slogans can be powerful and effective.

Here are a few examples:

• No more I can’t excuses. I can, and I will.
• When I fail, I will learn from it and move on.
• I will not wait for life to find me. I will find life.
• There is great opportunity for a great future.
• I am the only person who can own my dreams, and I choose to own them.
• Blame will not get me where I want to go. Ownership will get me there.
• When I take responsibility for my problems, I am in charge.

Rotate your slogans. Come up with fresh ones every few weeks. Put them in different places. Keep it interesting. Don’t let sameness cause you to ignore and forget about them.