I want to show you the skill of navigating your thoughts:

 

Did you know that we have 40,000 to 60,000 thoughts every day?

Most thoughts aren't noticed because they are automatic.

A great example is the monotonous drive home after a long work day.

When you finally pull into your driveway, you often wonder how you got there.

Obviously, you had to have been thinking about your actions the entire time.

You had to think about putting your blinker on.

You had to think about the light turning green.

This is called an automated thought process because your brain just automatically thinks about these things.

This is how your brain works.

 We master a skill, and this skill goes to the subconscious so you can use your prefrontal cortex to think about higher level things.

If you didn’t automate most of your tasks, you would be exhausted by consciously thinking about everything you do.

Unconscious thinking is all fine and dandy unless your behaviors are not what you want to be doing.

If you want to change your habits you need to pull your unconscious thinking into your conscious mind.

Once you are aware of the negative thought patterns, you can then change them

This takes a ton of effort!

The first skill you need to have is awareness. When you know what you are thinking, you can then choose what thoughts you want to have, or not have..

One option is to see a thought and then let it pass without taking any action.

Journal it and think about whether you want this thought to be true for you. Is this a thought you want in your life?

 

The second option is to change the thought.

This is the fun part!

 

Most thoughts you want to change are painful and they have been with you for some time.

It is hard to go from thinking:"I am fat and always will be" to suddenly thinking, "Thin is effortless!".

The process of thinking a new thought can sometimes be a choice, and other times it’s a process of healing, practice, and a ton of effort.

You most likely will have so much evidence for old thoughts and your brain doesn’t want to believe anything it can’t instantly have evidence for.

Be willing to be wrong about what you’re currently thinking.

Your brain will resist the change, but with some dedication and practice, it will find evidence for any thought.

That is the beauty of our brain!