Step 1: FEEL

Step 1: FEEL
The first step is to recognize that you are having a negative thought or are in what might be perceived as a negative situation. Once you ‘catch yourself,’ you can begin the flipping process.

Our feelings are the ‘trigger’ for letting us know whether we are headed down a negative spiral or up a positive one. Our feelings are our early warning system. What are you creating right now? Is it a ‘yum’ or a ‘yuck’? Are you creating more happiness or less? The feelings we want to change are always some form of fear and show up as anger, worry, frustration, lack, sadness, judgment, self-criticism or doubt.  Pay attention to how you feel.

We live in a culture that is rich with negativity. We have come to believe that being pessimistic or cynical is normal. These feelings can be very subtle. You may need to dig deep within yourself to identify the negative emotions you are experiencing. If something ‘just doesn’t feel right’…you’re on the right track. Take a minute to be quiet and really analyze the situation, relationship or perspective. You’ll find there may be some faint ‘not so good’ feelings. We often gloss right over them when someone crosses a boundary with us or makes a comment that doesn’t feel good.  I was taught to never hurt anyone else’s feelings without regard to my own feelings. I’ve come to call this toxic niceness because it is toxic to me when I do it.

STEP 2: LISTEN
Listen to your self-talk.  What is the dialogue that is going on in your head? To continue with Step 2 click here