Neutralizing Your Thoughts
My husband and I have a healthy competition every few weeks when one of us starts talking smack about how great our chili is and that we are going to create the winning recipe.
Now, we have been doing this for over ten years.
As soon as the temperature dips below 60 degrees, it becomes chili making time.
Each time we start the concoction, we use different ingredients and never make the same recipe twice.
We both declare that we made the best.
I think I heard him say the last time I made it that it might have been my best one yet (I included a bit of sweet potato).
Anyway, on Super Bowl Sunday, he set out to make chili and included bacon, sirloin tips, hamburger, loads of tomato, and five-alarm spices.
It is the five-alarm spices that always get to me--- so in preparation, I pour a big glass of milk (it must be whole milk, not 2% or skim).
I have a thought that if I drink the whole milk, then I neutralize the spice.
This may have been a strange analogy, but hang in here; it might work for you.
I teach a concept called Neutralizing Your Thoughts, and the steps include:
Recognize the thought.
Identify why you are having the thought.
Reframe the thought into something you can believe.
Let’s try this:
The thought that doesn’t serve you: I am fat
The neutralizing thought: I am not at my ideal weight.
The thought that doesn't serve you: I am not happy
The neutralizing thought: I am doing thought work on what brings me joy.
The thought that doesn't serve you: I don’t know what I want to do with my career.
The neutralizing thought: I am going to list five options and weigh the options.
The thought that doesn't serve you:I can never retire—I don’t know what I will do
The neutralizing thought: I will start a five-year plan and evaluate all that is available for me.
While we won’t be able to sit together and eat a bowl of spicy chili and drink a glass of whole milk—we can get together and talk about Neutralizing Your Thoughts. When you are ready, book a free 45-minute appointment at Booking — Nancy Beard Coaching and Motivational Speaking (nancybeardcoachingllc.com).
Nancy Beard
