Last week’s mindfulness challenge, we talked about creating a life of balance and the seven areas of focus. This year will be about helping you and myself have that life we all want and dream of by creating balance in each one of those areas. To begin, we need to wipe out the ANTS.
If you opened this article thinking this was some new DIY ant killer, you are going to be sorely disappointed. That is not the kind of ANTS were are talking about here.
So what are ANTS?
Automatic negative thoughts. On average, about 80% of our thoughts each day are negative. That is too many!
The good news is you weren’t born with negative thoughts. You were taught these thoughts from others, and over time, they became automatic. The same way you learned them, you can unlearn them.
Starting now, we are going to learn how to start controlling our thoughts and balancing our minds by getting rid of negative thoughts.
Positive thinking and negative thinking cannot operate at the same level in your mind, one needs to be the master and the one you feed more will rule over the other.”
―
This week’s mindfulness challenge is to wipe out the ANTS.
Before you can wipe out your automatic negative thoughts, you must recognize that you have them. I’ve created a worksheet for you to print here.
Now, take a moment to review the list of automatic negative thoughts. Do any of these seem familiar to you?
Black or White Thinking. Your thoughts contain words like always or never. “I’m never going to be good enough, or I’m always going to be unhappy.”
Label Thinking. Attaching Labels to other people or yourself. Like selfish, vain, conceited, ugly, fat, etc. What we label in others exists in ourselves.
Mind-Reading Thinking. You always think someone is mad at you or hates you. If someone is off that day, you immediately assume it’s because of you.
Fortune-Telling Thinking. No matter what, you know what’s going to happen, and it’s going to be wrong. You look for bad things to happen.
Magnified Thinking. You exaggerate your minor problems into significant events.
Guilt Beating Thinking. Everything in your life “should” be this way. You become resentful of others because they don’t act the way you think they “should.”
Personalized Thinking. You take everything anyone does personally. If someone is having a bad day, you think it’s about you, etc.
Blame Thinking. You convince yourself that all your problems happen because of others.
Comparative Thinking. Measuring yourself against others to make yourself feel less worthy.
Once you have gone over the list, try to think of which category your negative thoughts fit. Is there an ANT that you think of more than others?
Circle any ANTS that you consistently have so you can bring awareness to them.
Now, on your worksheet or a piece of paper, take each ANT and think of a positive alternative. For example, let’s say you always have thoughts that everyone hates you. Write that down in the negative column. Next to it, turn it into a positive. Write down, “everyone loves me.”
The next time you have the thought that someone hates you, quickly change that thought to “this person loves me.”
Continue doing this with each one of your negative thoughts.
Expelling negative thoughts takes a lot of practice, but once you get the hang of it, it is gratifying and your life will be better.
If you want to read further on controlling your thoughts and limiting negative beliefs, I suggest reading Don Miguel Ruiz “The Four Agreements.” He has an entire theory on not taking things personally that I love!
If you or someone you know would benefit from these mindfulness challenges, please sign up for our mailing list here. I would love for you to be a part of our mindful tribe.
Other articles you may have missed this past week:
How to be Mindful During the Political Season
My 2019, Growth and Lessons Learned
The Best Way to Deal With Sympathy Seekers
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