There was a time in my life that my negative thoughts completely took over my mindset and I was spiraling into a deep dark place. I often look back to examine that time- how I got there, what was going on? At home? At work? In my relationships? I look back to examine what I could have done differently and realize that I was doing the best I could. Then I go to the defining moment in my life where I discovered my calling, and I immediately feel peaceful and genuinely happy.
Your life is always going to challenge you to grow. You will always experience struggles. Struggles are meant to strengthen you, and they will repeat themselves until you learn from them. So don’t fight them when they happen. Look at struggles as God’s way to strengthen you and as part of His big plan for you.
We have over 70,000 thoughts in one day and many of those are negative. We also tend to repeat the same thoughts day in and day out, like a broken record. Your thoughts are not your enemy – they are just emotions. Emotions do not define you. Pay attention when they come and take note of it. What were you doing? Where were you? Who was around? Document your observations in a journal. Study your journal entries after a few weeks and look for any patterns.
Practice Positive affirmations
You can rewire your mindset by identifying a negative thought and replacing it right away with a true statement or positive thought. I appreciate that emotions are real and can feel overwhelming, but they don’t have to define who you are. The future God has for you is bigger than you could ever imagine. Trust His plans as they are filled with hope, purpose and promise.
Change your thinking when negative thoughts take hold of your mind.
Tell yourself:
- Instead of “I hate my body” say: “I have a beautiful body. I will keep it pure and clean and for the soul to reside in”. Or “I am wonderfully made”.
- Instead of “I can’t do this” say: “This is hard but I am strong enough to face this. I’ve been through tougher challenges before”.
- When you are feeling overwhelmed, say: “I’m not stressed; I’m learning to handle new challenges with grace”.
Practice Self Love and Compassion
In my nutrition practice, I see many people that try to be perfect with their eating or exercise schedule. They stick with their diet for 3 – 4 weeks then one day when they have a bad day, they stuff 3 cookies in their mouth and decide to through away all their positive progress. Ditch this “all or nothing” approach and practice forgiveness. Forgive yourself and say “I’m only human and had a tough day. But I won’t allow my emotions to define me. I will not allow these cookies to control me. I’m in control”.
Rewiring your brain take lots of practice but it is possible. Practice positive affirmations every day and soon enough you will find that your negative thoughts are minimal and manageable.
Here’s to you and making 2025 a year of transformation.
Maria Karalis, RDN