How To Shift Into More Intentional Thinking Patterns

Welcome to part 7 of our guide to intentional business, if you’ve ever found yourself caught in a cycle of negative thinking, it can be tough to escape it. Negative thinking can be a consuming process–one bad thought can lead to another, and another, until eventually you feel miserable and hopeless in a spiral of negative “what-if” possibilities.

With some practice, you can learn to escape this cycle of negative thought processes through a method called thought flipping.

What is thought flipping?

Thought flipping is a method used to stop negative thinking in its tracks. To practice thought flipping, you simply follow this pattern:

1. Identify a negative or bad thought once you’ve had it. Purposely “label” it for what it is–you can even say out loud, “that was a negative thought”!
2. Take that thought and consider the reasons why it is harmful, unreasonable, or unlikely. Often, negative thoughts are fueled by worry or stress, meaning our minds distort them to unlikely proportions.
3. Lastly, flip your negative thought to a more positive (or more likely) thought.

Here is an example of what thought flipping can look like

• Sean has been trying to lose weight, but he’s struggling to stick to his plan 100% and isn’t seeing the results he hoped for now. He thinks to himself, “I am never going to be able to do this, so I should just give up.” This is Mario’s initial negative and harmful thought process.
• Sean realizes he’s just had a negative thought. To solidify this fact, he tells himself, “wow…. I was being really negative about this situation by thinking that way.”
• Sean flips his thought to be more truthful and positive by saying, “I have already made some good and healthy changes on my weight loss journey, so I am going to keep trying and moving along.”

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Why is it easier to have negative thoughts rather than positive ones?

Overall, human beings tend to think more negatively than positively. Why are we like this? Science has an answer!

Humans have an internal inclination called a negativity bias, meaning we often find it easier to be negative rather than positive. Believe it or not, this negativity bias is responsible for some good features.

For example, because of our negative biases, we remember tragic, painful, or frightening events with ease. These memories make us approach dangerous situations more cautiously because they make us remember what it feels like to get hurt, feel scared, or have an otherwise negative experience.

The first time you touched a hot stove left a permanent, deep memory in your mind. As an adult, you take great care to avoid touching the stove because you remember clearly what a bad burn feels like.

In this case, having a negativity bias is a good thing because it serves as a tool for survival. However, it can often get in the way of really amazing opportunities. If you spend more time considering negative outcomes and possible failures, you let your negativity bias take control in situations where it doesn’t belong.

For example, if you let a fear of failure stop you from leaving your miserable job, you won’t ever find a new and better one.

How can I practice thought flipping?

If you have a particularly strong inclination toward negative thinking, it can take quite a bit of practice to really master the art of thought flipping. Begin by identifying one or two of your most common, recurring negative thoughts to “flip.”

After you’ve developed a strong sense of flipping these one or two thoughts, expand your efforts toward other negative thoughts you have.

Using the subliminal audios in Better You In 52 will make it easier to stay positive, join us!