Catch Your ANTs: A Simple Reset For Negative Thoughts

Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs) can sneak into our minds, pulling our attention away from the present moment and fueling stress, self-doubt, and anxiety. In this video, I'll walk you through how to recognize when these thoughts are taking over, interrupt the cycle, and intentionally reconnect with something in your environment. We'll also explore how to "Flip the Frame" by shifting an unhelpful thought toward a more balanced, constructive perspective.
Learn how to catch your ANTs, redirect your attention, and respond to negative thoughts with greater awareness and confidence.

Transcript

Hi everyone, Sarah here. Today we're gonna talk about ants. They're disgusting, They're obnoxious. We're actually not talking about the insect. We're talking about an acronym. And it's probably my favorite acronym because it really does remind me of the insect. So ANTS, Automatic Negative Thoughts. You know, Those thoughts that pop up in your head like, I can't mess up. I mess up all the time. I'm going to look silly. Everyone's going to look at me and laugh. You know, All those great things. So that's an ant. And they're obnoxious. And they pop into our heads at really inopportune times. How I handle Getting the ants. We're gonna. Catch it! So we're going to catch the ants, Kind of like we went with the insects, You know. Weed, Catch them, Put them outside, Or do what you must with them. So let's think of an automatic negative thought. I'm the worst. That's a great one. I'm gonna catch it. First, You have to notice that it's happening. So, You know, That takes practice, Noticing when these negative thoughts pop in our head. Okay, So I'm doing something and I'm the worst pops into my head. I'm gonna notice it. I notice that my brain is thinking this. I'm gonna catch it. I can say it out loud, I'm going to catch it to externalize catching this ant. And you can either, Two things, If you are, You know, You have some time, There's an exercise that I like to do called flip the frame, Where we're reframing our thoughts. But if you don't have time, Let's reconnect. There's an ant. We're gonna. . . Touch it! Then we're gonna reconnect to what we're doing. Let's say you're at work and you get an email. Into your inbox and it was something that for whatever reason made you feel less than you should. Made you feel terrible, Made you feel awful. And you start this spiral. I'm the worst. I can't do this. I don't know how to do this. They know. My boss knows I can't do this. You know, This huge loop. When you notice that loop is happening. Catch it! Catch it! If you're at work, You don't have to say it out loud, But maybe you write it down. Catch it. To externalize, Or you just say it in your head, I'm catching the ant. Catching it. You're stopping that loop right as you say, I'm catching it. And then from there, You can reconnect to your work. So if you're at your desk, Maybe you have a fidget or maybe you have something that you can use for a few minutes. Maybe it's a breath exercise. Maybe it's something just to get you to reconnect back to your computer. Or maybe there's a task that you're not. Upset about. Or maybe like you're kind of excited and maybe you use that to reconnect with your work. So if you do have some time. And even at work, If you have some time, We can totally practice this too. It's called flipping the frame. So, We have our ant, Excuse me. So the ant. Is I always mess this up. And we're gonna flip it. So then we're reframing the thought and it's not overly positive. It's not rainbows and sunshines and flowers, Which would be lovely, But it's, I know what I need to focus on. Or I can't mess this up. This comes up with a lot of my performance clients. So flipping the frame from, I can't mess this up, Is the ant, And you're thinking about all the expectations. We're going to flip it. I don't need to be a perfectionist. I know how to recover. You're instilling that moral in yourself. You have the confidence to move on. And then reconnect, Reconnect with whatever's in your environment. I hope this helps squash those ants, Catch them, Do what you must with them, But they're negative thoughts and they gotta go.