We all have an alter ego rummaging about in our minds, waiting to destroy us. We all have negative thoughts that run the risk of destroying our mentalities.
But all negative thoughts can be reframed as positive ones.
Today, I had my grade 5-6’s write down a different kind of list. I had them answer the question: “What do you dislike about yourself?” Answers could range from what they wanted to improve, to physical features, to things about their life they wished could be different.
The magic in this exercise is twofold. For starters, by recognizing our weaknesses and where we want to improve, we can make active efforts to change those weaknesses into strengths. We can more diligently put strategies into place in changing our supposed ‘faults’.
But the second benefit is way more powerful. That is – understanding that anything negative can always be reframed. Any negative quality they think they possess can easily be reframed as a positive quality instead.
We’ve been slowly working on patience with all of them. But in many ways, impatience is a quality that, in many moments, leads them to positive results. They’re go-getters, unwilling to wait to spring into action. This is positive.
Of course, there are moments where we want them to practice patience and wait for the right moment to act. But overarchingly, their lack of patience is a valuable asset that actually makes them stronger leaders.
Any negative quality you supposedly possess can easily be seen as a strength if you challenge your assumptions. If you flip your mindset and consider the value the quality might bring to your life.
This is the part of the article where I now challenge you to take action. Write down a list of the qualities that you’d like to improve, or the things you simply don’t like about yourself. What negative thoughts do you have about yourself and your life?
After that, try and reframe all of those thoughts. Come up with the reasons why many of those qualities, if not all, are actually positive qualities to possess.
For example, I’m often impulsive with the actions I take. I like to get things off my mind right away by taking action. Sometimes rather than thinking through every angle of a decision, I simply take action with where my heart feels compelled to go. This could be seen as a negative quality. Sometimes I should strategize about all the angles before taking action. But this quality is also a massive asset to my ability to achieve greatness, to take risks worth the reward, and simply just to accomplish more in a day than others.
Negative thoughts are natural. We all have them. We all find ourselves stressed out and down about our lives from time to time. It’s important not to let the negativity fester. If you can reframe those negative thoughts as positive ones, you will remember your worth, and why you’re actually an amazing person every step of the way. Any time you find yourself in a negative headspace full of worry and doubt, ask yourself – ‘How can I reframe this?’. ‘How can I use this to grow?’.
Negative thoughts are valuable, but we can always recognize them for what they’re worth. Sometimes they might be worth more than you think.
