Change your thoughts = Change your life

We've all done it...

... sat and stewed over something - ruminating.

... working ourselves up with negative and unhelpful thoughts, until we find ourselves feeling anxious, worried, defeated, angry, or any other shade of "not good at all."

It makes sense why this happens - after all, our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are all interconnected, influencing one another.

It's why some of the best evidence-based strategies for coping with negative or unwanted emotions involve changing how we think and what we spend time doing. These types of strategies are based on cognitive behavioral theory.

In fact, changing our thought patterns is a powerful way to change:

• the way we feel
• how we behave
• the decisions we make

Over time, changing our thoughts influences our habits and - day after day - how we live our lives.

"But thoughts are automatic, right?"

Yes - but, if we zoom out and "think of the thinker" - catching those automatic thoughts, identifying them and how they make us feel - we can intervene.

We can identify the cognitive blunders or distortions that pop up uninvited, and we can try on a different thought - one that is more helpful and doesn't leave us feeling so crummy. 

This act helps us think flexibly and implement new ways of thinking that - if practiced over and over (and over and over again) - create new thoughts, habits, mindsets, and pathways in the brain, helping us to think those more helpful thoughts more efficiently. 

Let's hit the highlights:

• Thoughts affect our emotions and behaviors, over time shaping our habits and emotional wellbeing
• "Thinking about the thinker" and catching our minds going unhelpful places is the first step to changing our inner dialogue
• Trying on alternative perspectives and thoughts can positively impact our emotions, feelings, habits, mindsets, behaviors, and life