Finding Inner Equilibrium - Thought Correction & Mindfulness

We will dive into a topic that's becoming increasingly relevant in our fast-paced world: finding the balance between thought correction and mindfulness, all while avoiding the trap of being constantly stuck in our heads.

Transcript

So today I want to dive into a topic that is becoming increasingly relevant in our fast-paced world,

And that is finding kind of this inner equilibrium,

Finding a balance between being able to be mindful but avoiding the trap of constantly being stuck in our heads.

So this idea of thought correction is a big thing with mindfulness,

And I want to dig into that with you.

In our journey to personal growth and self-improvement,

We often encounter the need to correct negative or unhelpful thought patterns.

And I like to kind of throw the positive and negative connotation out the window because our thoughts and our feelings and emotions are,

They're just there,

Right?

They're not us,

They're something that we experience.

And so I do like the idea of something that's helpful or something that's unhelpful.

So if you hear me say positive or negative,

Replace that with helpful or unhelpful and see how that feels.

So the process of correcting these thought patterns involves identifying our beliefs,

Challenging them with rational thinking,

And then replacing them with more accurate or more positive,

Helpful perspectives.

So this is a cognitive process.

This is something that does take effort and intention to do and to experience.

It can be really,

Really beneficial for our mental well-being.

Coupling it,

Pairing it with other mindfulness practices help us avoid becoming excessively preoccupied with our thoughts.

So for some of us,

When we start evaluating what's going on in our minds,

We really stay stuck there.

We really like over-process and over-analyze it.

And so how can you balance understanding what we're thinking and why we're thinking it,

But not letting that take control?

So let's talk about understanding thought correction.

What does that really mean?

So thought correction is like tuning our mental radio to a station that broadcasts positivity and self-compassion.

It allows us to acknowledge some of these things like black and white thinking,

Attaching personalization to everything.

Making everything into this big ordeal or catastrophe is kind of a way that it's thought of.

Distorting different things based on how we perceive them,

It is a big problem.

It's a problem that most of us experience,

Whether we realize it or not.

So the idea is to correct those things,

To kind of remove some of our personal attachments to those things.

Think about them from a different perspective,

An outside perspective,

And retrain some of our thought processes.

So when we engage in thought correction,

We become better.

We become more equipped to face challenges and setbacks.

And we also then cultivate a more resilient mindset.

So think about a situation where you kind of went down a rabbit hole in your thoughts and you felt horrible.

You felt like nothing was going right,

Like you were never going to get out of this situation,

Whatever that looked like for you.

How can we flip that and be more resilient and say,

Yes,

This is something that happened,

But I have the tools,

I have the resources to be able to work through this.

Now this is important to note that thought correction does not mean not feeling or processing some of these harder,

More challenging thoughts and feelings.

I never advocate for brushing things under the rug.

I never advocate for burying them inside of us for the sake of positivity in our lives.

What I do advocate for is tuning in,

So thinking of that radio again,

Tuning into the stories that we believed over the course of our lives.

The things that we were told that are holding us back,

The limiting beliefs that are preventing us from living our best lives.

Tuning into those things and working to make those thoughts helpful,

To make those thoughts the truths so that we can embrace each day as it's meant to be,

Not as we perceive it through the filter of all of those thoughts,

Those past experiences that keep us stuck.

Switching gears a little bit to mindfulness.

Mindfulness is about being present in the moment without judgment.

It encourages us to observe those thoughts,

Our feelings,

Our surroundings,

What's happening around us without getting entangled in it.

Mindfulness allows us to connect with our experiences on a deeper level.

It helps us to foster a sense of calm and centeredness.

By practicing mindfulness,

We can reduce stress,

We can enhance focus,

And we can improve that emotional regulation.

How do we effectively balance these two things without constantly overthinking?

I'm going to share a few strategies with you.

The first one is scheduled reflection.

Set aside specific times for this idea of thought correction.

You could do some journaling.

You could meditate.

You could do some voice notes,

Record your own voice speaking some of these things.

When these sessions are over,

Intentionally shift your focus to the present moment.

Don't take whatever came up in this session with you in that reflection time.

Don't take it with you.

Just explore it and then let it be.

You can come back to it.

You can revisit it at your next scheduled session.

We're kind of putting in space for exploring,

Which most of us don't do.

We just take things as they come.

Whatever our brain comes up with,

We just roll with it,

Allowing for time to reflect.

Mindful grounding.

Using mindfulness techniques to anchor yourself in the present moment.

A couple of ways to do this are to practice deep breathing.

You could do a body scan session,

Some sensory awareness activities or exercises to redirect your attention away from excessively analyzing things.

If you find yourself stuck in your head,

Repeating and replaying situations,

A breathing session or body scan can help release that tension that might be coming from some of those thoughts.

Acceptance.

So understand that negative,

Again,

Negative or unhelpful thoughts and emotions are a natural part of being human.

Rather than fighting against them,

We can practice self-compassion.

We can acknowledge their presence without judgment.

Instead of getting stuck in those cycles,

Realize those thoughts and feelings are there and they don't have to run the show.

They don't have to be in charge.

Engaging the senses.

So engaging in activities that require your full attention.

Cooking,

Painting,

Playing a musical instrument,

Going for a walk.

A lot of people exercise is something that engages your senses.

You have to be present and aware.

And so it has your full attention.

It helps our mind and our body connect,

Letting energy move through us,

Letting energy flow out of us.

So if you're feeling kind of stuck in one of those cycles,

You could engage your senses.

Take that repetitive stuff out of your mind and do something with that energy.

Do something to kind of get out of that place.

Physical movement is,

As I just sort of mentioned,

Incorporating movement,

Particularly like yoga or stretching or something that connects you with your body.

Merging that physical movement with present moment awareness promotes mindfulness and our physical well-being.

These things,

Again,

As I mentioned,

Can be helpful to kind of move some of that energy that gets stuck in us when we are processing different thoughts,

Processing different situations.

Stuff lives in our body.

We can move it through movement.

A gratitude practice.

This is something that has become very popular,

Reflecting on what you're grateful for.

And this shifts our focus,

Again,

From those unhelpful things to the helpful or more positive aspects in your life,

Which kind of fosters that balanced perspective.

Even in many of the worst case scenarios,

Our brain is often going to worst case to protect us,

To keep us safe.

Any time we're in processing those things that are in our minds,

There are good things to acknowledge.

And there's amazing growth that can happen when we realize that underneath all that stuff,

All that stuff that holds us back,

We have a lot to be grateful for.

So this balance between thought correction and mindfulness allows us to cultivate mental clarity and emotional stability.

By integrating these practices,

Creating that inner equilibrium,

We can nurture a healthier relationship with our thoughts.

We can break free from overanalyzing and overthinking.

And we can develop a greater sense of our overall well-being.

So the goal isn't to eliminate thinking altogether.

It's not to move any negative or unhelpful things out of our lives.

It's to harness the power that we have to use those things to enhance our lives.

Hope that's helpful.

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