Add the word…yet.
The worse experiences can be reframed with your thoughts. It’s the interpretation that you apply to your direct experience and the powerful words you use. For example, if you say, “I’m not a good public speaker…” you have just programmed the brain and body to be at a disadvantage. Now add the word…”yet” after that statement. “I’m not a good speaker yet.” Does that “feel” differently to you? Does it offer any hope? Any window for improvement?
The NIH did a study with “high worriers” – each had various physical stress (e.g. fatigue, panic attacks, insomnia, headaches, etc.). The notion of worry was predominantly verbal – how we speak to ourselves in our head and out loud. This suggests that our verbal thinking style plays a direct role in maintaining intrusions, perhaps even serving to trigger worry episodes. The question of why verbal-based worry elevates intrusive thoughts was linked to images associated with that experience.
Our supercomputer brain links images and words to our experiences (regardless if traumatic or joyful). Due to multiple reasons (we will discuss in a later post), we often associate negative images and words, which are failure based thinking. For example, this audience is much larger that I originally planned? What if I forget my key points? What if the technology fails? Do I have water nearby if I cough during this presentation?
Walt Disney was fired for not being creative enough. Do you think that stopped him from learning and growing? When you disempower yourself, you experience sadness, guilt, and anger. That programmed experience in your brain is a by-product of what you think. Tune into your thoughts, patterns, and habits in order to grow in that area of your life using your words and thought processes. It can be controlled and mitigated when you change your perspective; you change your words. Start to use these words and experience the same “awful situation” again in your head:
- What can I do differently next time?
- What did I learn from this experience?
- What positive outcomes came as a result from this experience?
- What purpose did this experience give me?
- How can I use this experience for good (or a greater good)?
By reinterpreting the experience with a positive perspective, you empower yourself. You begin to take away the pain, anger, frustration, and transform it. You’ll forget sometimes, but try to catch yourself. It takes practice to break the cycle. By reframing your brain to be in the right state mentally and emotionally, you give yourself hope, alignment, and empowerment.
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