Don’t negative yourself
We are our own worst enemy. Everyday we come up with excuses of why we can’t do things. From I’m too old, I’m not skilled enough, I’m too fat, or I’m just not good enough-we inevitably set ourselves up for failure and keep wondering why we can’t get past and move forward.
Our minds are programmed to listen more to negativity than to positivity. Think about it this way, which one resonates with you more “Hey you’re looking good“ or “did you get some weight“? Of course most reading this blog resonated with the second quote. This is because we are self critical of ourselves.
We find ways to discover the negativity in ourselves, our lives, or our jobs. this type of thinking is what is known as the nocebo effect.
What is the nocebo effect? The nocebo effect is basically where you tell yourself or let others/circumstances tell/dictate that nothing is going to work and you should not even try. This might be because you tried many times and failed, or don’t have the resources at the moment. We usually don’t look into why what we did failed and learn from that mistake. We also are more likely to listen to those who criticize but don’t give ideas to help us succeed. Thomas Edison once said ”I have not failed, I just found 10,000 ways that wouldn’t work.“ He was using what could be called the ‘placebo effect’. I know you are probably thinking that the placebo effect is just about a fake drug or procedure that someone thinks is real and thus improves in their health/quality of life. I saw the placebo effect is more than that. Both the placebo and nocebo effects are tricks of the brain to get a desired outcome. Placebo=positive, nocebo=negative. So, do this one little experiment. Take just one negative thought and change it to a positive one. An example could be ”I will never get a promotion.” into “I just need to (fill in blank), it might take a while, but I have a great support team in my family, coworkers and friends.”
Remember that just turning one negative thought into a positive one can make a world of difference. Have a wonderful day and remember ’don’t negative yourself’. Til next ti