5 Most Challenging Traits for Turbo Thinkers© & How to Combat Them
So many of my clients are filled with shame because of the countless negative messages they have received over time. The negative talk gets internalized to the point where their own self talk has become negative too. Our turbo thinking brains excel at rumination and catastrophizing. Our brains can be champion naysayers, flailing us with whips and chains of humiliation and degradation.
Let’s challenge that negative self-talk: What is the reality? Is that really true? How can you be absolutely sure that it is true? Who would you be without that thought?
I am always late. Why can’t I ever be on time?
Is that really true? Are you really late for everything? What is an example of when you were on time? Or maybe even early?
My head is always in the clouds.
Again, what is the validity of this blanket statement? When were you hyperfosuced on something? When did daydreaming lead to a creative work of art or a solution?
Why can’t I just shut up?
Hmmm…Are you really talking incessantly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? When are you quiet? When can you listen with intent?
I am the most disorganized person on the planet.
Really? The entire planet Earth? What evidence can you find of organization, anywhere, anytime in the past? Maybe you used to line up your Hot Wheels in order of preference back when you were a kid.
Why do I always avoid things?
Let’s dispute that belief. What have you enthusiastically done in the past? Even if it was long ago, the skill exists. How did you make it happen then?
Everybody hates me.
How can you be absolutely sure that it is true? What if you believe that everybody loves you? What does that feel like instead?
Our brains can sometimes be so cruel, like the worst bully on the school playground, and yet we would never say such things out loud to a loved one. How can we speak to ourselves with the love and kindness we deserve? How can we dispute the negative self talk as soon as it begins? Let’s practice together.