How To Reframe Unhelpful Thoughts And Change Your Life

We all have negative thoughts and it is very easy to convince ourselves that we are not as good as we think we are. It takes a little bit of practice to learn how to reframe those negative thoughts. When you have a tendency to think negatively then that is what becomes internalized. You learn to think in this way and it becomes a habit.


Learning how to reframe negative thoughts will help you to get on with your life unharmed and also enable you to do things you never thought you would do. I am going to give you a little exercise to help you get rid of the negative thoughts you have about yourself. Here is what you need to do: Take a piece of paper, write down anything negative that comes to mind. Now, try and change that statement into something positive.

In order for you to reframe your negative thinking you have to change the context of the negative. For instance instead of saying I am not happy, say I am living my life to the fullest. Instead of saying I wish I had more money, say I am enjoying my financial freedom. Or even reframe your thoughts by adding - that can be better!

The key to reframing negative thoughts is to keep them from becoming internalized. We all have them but they become internalized when they become a self-fulfilling prophecy. That is, once you internalize the negative, it becomes true for you. So the first step is to remove the word "not" from your statement. Then add something like "I am using my money to take care of myself and enjoy life to the fullest."

Keep the next part of this simple exercise in mind: when you use the words "not" and "life" simultaneously, you are effectively re-framing the negative. It means that instead of saying "I will not succeed" you can replace that with "I am succeeding." You can also re-frame the negative by replacing it with something positive, such as: "I am learning how to live the life that I want." Both statements carry the same meaning. They both mean that you are taking actions to move towards your goal.

This second self talk exercise is just one among many that you can do to shift your thinking away from negative self-talk and onto positive self talk. Self-talk such as this has been scientifically proven to increase your IQ, improve your confidence, and reduce your stress levels. In fact, it has been proven that negative self talk is one of the primary factors that contribute to negativity in life. Using this technique is just the first step in improving your mental state.

When you learn how to reframe unhelpful thoughts you will find that they quickly fade away. Since they have no power over you or your life, they simply aren't worth your time or effort. Instead of focusing on their power over you, focus on your ability to change them. Once you have mastered this important skill you can do many other things including: start seeing success in areas that were once considered failure, get rid of limiting beliefs, develop more empowering ones, and change your self-talk to one that is more hopeful. You can learn how to reframe in just a few minutes each day.


Life can be difficult. It can feel like there are too many things that are going wrong. It's easy to get discouraged and depressed when the difficulties seem overwhelming. But it doesn't have to be this way. There is power in the sun that can shine brightly even on the darkest cloud; the key is to get out of the dark and onto a path of light.