Five Tips to Stop Self Sabotaging Thoughts
Are you your own worst critic? Many of us are, but do your criticisms get in the way of your progress and success? When your self-criticism also leads to your self-sabotage, you will need to take a step back and learn how to overcome these patterns. Preventing self-sabotaging thoughts will take awareness, time, and patience, but it can allow you to grow and thrive with confidence and perspective. In women’s therapy in Winter Garden, we help many clients become self-aware so they can prevent negative self-talk. These are a few tips to stop your self-sabotaging thoughts.
Take a Step Back
When you suffer from a setback, take a moment to remove yourself from the situation. By taking a step back, you can give yourself the time and space to accept the setback before you jump to conclusion and start to criticize yourself. Understand the reasons for the setback, brainstorm ways to avoid this in the future, and find a way to move forward. Focusing on forward motion by being patient with the process will prevent self-sabotaging thoughts.
Pay Attention to Your Inner Dialogue
Take notice of any self-talk patterns that may be negative. When you notice that you have a negative tone with yourself, you will want to stop this dialogue immediately. By stopping any malicious or sabotaging thoughts before they even take flight, you can prevent yourself from feeling their effects. As you start to identify your dialogue patterns, you will eventually be able to remove them entirely.
Stop Blaming Yourself
There are things that occur in life that are not your fault. However, your thoughts may make you feel like you are to blame, and you will immediately start self-sabotaging. Take the time to examine what happened so that you do not blame yourself for any potential problems that may arise. Identify the true cause of the problem so that you can externalize the issue and prevent any self-sabotaging talk that typically occurs.
Practice Positive Affirmations
To prevent negative dialogue and self-sabotaging thoughts, you will also need to practice changing the message. Instead of allowing your thoughts to be negative, you should work on practicing positive affirmations. Work on building yourself up instead of tearing yourself down. This may feel jolting at first, because it is unfamiliar. However, stay with the practice, and eventually you will start to feel more confident in yourself.
Give Yourself Time to Rest
Self-sabotaging thoughts take time, dedication, and practice. This can be mentally straining and tiring. Also, it may lead to even more negative patterns, like anxiety, decreased quality of sleep, and just overall fatigue. Take the time to give your mind a break by resting at home or watching your favorite mindless TV show. Reset your mind so that you can approach the day with clarity and focus.
These are a few tips to follow to step self-sabotaging thoughts from entering your mind. When you are prone to self-criticism or you constantly belittle yourself for wrongdoing or mistakes, you need to learn how to treat yourself kindlier. Consider working in women’s therapy in Winter Garden to overcome these thought processes. Contact us to hear about our approaches to therapy today.
