In my previous article, I looked at how negative thinking can hold us back from achieving our goals. In this article, I’m going to look at strategies for dealing with negative thinking.

In his Action Plan Toolkit (aff), Robert Middleton addresses 7 steps to disarm the negative belief.

1. Identify the negative thought - What is it that you’re resisting? Whenever you find yourself saying “I just don’t have time for this” or “No one will be interested in my services” or “Even if I do this, it won’t be good enough” or “If I call, I’m just going to end up in an argument” or “I’ll never get this done on time,” pause and reflect on that negative feeling.
2. Ask “Is this true?” Just answer with a “Yes” or “No.” Sometimes it will be. Other times, not.
3. Ask “Can I absolutely know with 100% certainty if this is true in all cases?” Again, answer with a “Yes” or “No.”
4. Ask “How to I react when I think that thought?” Look at how you react when you think that negative thought. How do you feel when you think that thought? (ie defeated, not wanting to deal with it, fearful of rejection, avoidant, etc) What do you do because of that thought? (ie put it off until later, ignore it, ask someone else to do it, beat yourself up about it, yell at your secretary, etc)
5. Ask “If it was impossible to have that thought, how would things be different?” What would your life be like if you couldn’t think that negative thought?
6. Take that negative thought and turn it into a positive. “I can make the time to do this” or “Prospects X and Y will be interested in my services” or “If I do this, the group will be pleased that we can move forward” or “If I call, we’ll have a pleasant discussion” or “I have plenty of time to complete this project.”
7. Finally, ask yourself “Is this turnaround as true or truer than your original negative thought?” Find three reasons why it is. For instance, “I can make the time to do this if I (a) take an hour today to clarify the project’s objectives and create an action plan (b) work on the project tomorrow between meetings with Clients A and B and (c) eat lunch at my desk on Wednesday and use the extra time to finish up what needs to be done.”

It’s important to realize that most negative thoughts creep in without us being aware of them. We simply assume they are true and react accordingly. After all, they seem reasonable and logical, and since our brain is so good at associating things it deems to be relevant, they just make sense. In other words, if you think you won’t have time to do something, you’ll find all sorts of ways to procrastinate or something will “come up” and prevent you from getting around to doing it.

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