Podcast #466

How to Think Better Thoughts, Even If You Struggle with Anxiety or Overwhelm

 

In this episode of The Confidence Podcast, we’re coaching on…

• The key to being more than just a “positive thinker,” but becoming a “powerful thinker.”
• How to manage your thoughts and make your brain work for you
• My method to confidently manage my anxiety, overwhelm and self-doubt

 

REVIEW OF THE WEEK:

Life changing! Dgreenw4
 
I listen to your podcast every single day! I get in these awful funks and it’s literally like going to a therapist. Love that you’re Christian and that you love fitness! I am a CPT and personal trainer at Burn Boot Camp so I have to keep my confidence and self love up so I can show that to others. You literally do that for me. I’ve tried so many podcasts and yours always helps my day out. None of the others ever compare. I can’t even explain how much you have poured into my soul. I had an unfortunate event where you were talking about in order for a better door to open you have to close that other one. I closed that toxic door that day.. guess what…2 days later, my most incredible door opened. Just know, you are changing lives and helping people that truly struggle with intense anxiety and depression but that also has to radiate confidence in their career…you do that for me everyday. Thank you again for pouring into us that listen. You are touching love s and changing the world. Hoping to join your College of Confidence one day.

 

PATREON UPDATE

Announcing new options for supporting this amazing show.
 
Hop over to my Patreon page for all of the options, including a new $7 /month support option that delivers Weekly Journaling Prompts. Additionally, you can become part of my VIP Squad, which includes all of our normal patron goodies, AND a shout out on the air, as well as the right to personally request the topic for an upcoming podcast.
 
This week we’re shouting out to Ryan Painter for being our first to snag one of the VIP Squad spots! Thank you for your support, Ryan!
 
Go to www.trishblackwell.com/patreon to get started

 

LET’S COACH!

Powerful self-talk goes beyond just positive thinking, it’s a combination of a few types of thinking.

1. Positive thinking.
2. Powerful thinking (intentional thought creation)
3. Repeated thinking.

 

Types of Negative Thinking:

1. Filtering (magnifying the negative in a situation and filtering out the positive ones)
2. Personalizing (automatically blaming yourself or making it about you)
3. Catastrophizing (anticipating the worst and carrying a bad experience beyond the moment , expecting it to bleed over into the rest of the day)
4. Polarizing (things are only good or bad)

 

HOW TO MANAGE YOUR THOUGHTS AND MAKE YOUR THOUGHTS WORK FOR YOU:

I get asked all the time how to reframe thoughts, and how to actually talk back to yourself effectively, so I thought I’d share the answer here.

First, you have to write down your thought that you want to replace. Keep it simple and in as plain of language as possible. Then, answer it back directly, compassionately and with the truth, as if you were talking to a friend.


I teach a few methods:

1. Mental Tea
2. The Confidence Journal
3. Affirmation Proclamations
4. Gratitude on the Go
5. Thought Reframing
6. Intentional Thought Creation
7. Brain Dumps

Have a Cup of Mental Tea.

What’s happening… (circumstances, situation)
T: Thought
E: Emotion
A: Action
What happens next… (outcome, results)

What is Intentional Thought Creation:

Know the difference between an intention and a goal. Goals are future-focused, typically on a destination or specific achievement. Intentions are in the present moment, something to live out each day.

1. Recognize unwanted thought patterns (gain awareness)
2. Practice hearing your inner voice as an observer (assess what’s happening in your mind, without judging your thoughts)
3. Play around with what thoughts attract what result in your life (example: thankfulness attracts and creates joy and happiness)
4. Define what you want in your life – make it clear and unclouded in your mind.
5. Create a thought that will support that you want to create, and care for it like you would care for a new seed that has been planted.

When to Use Thought Reframing:

1. In your morning routine / nighttime routine.
2. In response to normal daily challenges (how you feel, something someone says, etc.)
3. In emergency use (like when you delete your site)

Thought Reframes:

• I just crashed my site. I’m an idiot.
• I made a human error, and however this plays out, it will be something good and for the best. There’s something to learn here and grace to extend myself.

Here are some examples that will help you get the picture:

I’m doubting my own ability and follow through on initiatives I want to do and feel called to do. BECOMES >>>  Doubt is part of the human experience; nothing has gone wrong here. I recognize that doubt is just a manifestation of fear, and I have chosen to live my life in faith, not fear. I trust that if I am called to do something big, God will make me capable,

I am craving external affirmation, validation and appreciation and I want to not need it BECOMES >>> The validation I need I already have – it’s from God, and the further validation I need will come from me, and my commitment to cultivating belief, gratitude and peace about where I am at the moment.

I feel negative, cynical and anxious. I wonder if my thinking is just negative or is it actually just being realistic? BECOMES >>>> Negative thinking doesn’t have a place in my life. It is only reality if I continue to think on it and make it reality. I have more within me than I have ever given myself credit for. I can do more than I believe I can and I am in the process of improving my personal habits and the level of excellence with which I show up in life.

 

CHOOSING CONFIDENCE IF YOU STRUGGLE WITH ANXIETY, OVERWHELM, IMPOSTOR SYNDROME, OR PERFECTIONISM

I don’t make my anxiety a problem.
I decided to work with it. To neutralize it.
I learned that I don’t have to believe every thought.
I learned that my thoughts are my most powerful things.
 
So, it’s time to make some decisions for yourself about that thing you struggle with.
 
Will it be the thing you struggle with, or will it be the thing that strengthens you?
 
How can you find gratitude for what makes you groan?
 
I am so thankful for my anxiety.
It is the reason I can so deeply connect with and understand the people I coach.
It is what brings me to my knees every morning, knowing that I need God.
It is what makes me so greatly appreciate joy, peace and the fulfillment I feel now.
It is what keeps me disciplined in my thought management and my habits of excellence.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The membership cost of the College of Confidence is going up soon. If you’ve been on the fence about joining my cancel-at-anytime, risk-free mentorship program, then now is the time to join. Once you join and become a member, you keep the rate you enrolled at unless you cancel.
 
To join, just go to www.collegeofconfidence.com/join

 

LISTENER OF THE WEEK: 

I help driven women overcome self-doubt, impostor syndrome, and perfectionism so that they can stop playing small with their lives and start making the bold difference in this world God created them to make.