Stop It!

Thoughts are important because they directly influence our emotions, behaviors, and decisions, essentially shaping our perception of the world and dictating how we navigate life; Listeners, “what we think" becomes "what we do," so we need to make our thought patterns, a powerful tool for creating positive change or overcoming challenges. 

Now for our Action Step:

1. Identify the thought you need to change
2. When you get the thought, say “STOP IT!” say it out loud or to yourself, but say it. This will stop the irrational thought; you cannot think 2 thoughts at the same time!
3. As we learned in episode, 3 ANTs or Automatic Negative Thoughts, make a covenant with God by turning the negative or irrational thought into an affirmation. REMINDER: IF YOU HAVE NOT LISTENED TO EPISODE 3, PLEASE GO BACK AND TUNE IN; 
4. If this thought is stopping you from completing a task, turn your attention back to what you are trying to do; if you are not trying to complete a task and you are just having this thought, use your imagination to turn that negative thought into a positive vision. For example: imagine yourself laying on a beach in the warm sand with the sun beaming and the ocean waves flowing in and out.
5. Calmly repeat this process every time you get an unhealthy thought.