In this exercise called 2 for 1 technique you’ll learn how to stop negative thoughts. Actually this simple change is the beginning of reprogramming reactions. Remember as you practice the exercise this is a new way of reacting to old triggers. And, after using the 2 for 1 for three weeks you’ll find that your mind begins to automatically run the new positive program, which will create calm.
Learning new ways of reacting to your emotions is a new skill that takes practice. Just like when a person learns to play tennis it may feel frustrating at times, when the ball doesn’t go where you want it to. But, as you practice you get to a point where your can hit the ball where you want it to go, without much conscious thought.
When you were a baby you didn’t beat yourself as you learned to go from crawling to walking. Imagine how difficult it would have been if each time you fell down you told yourself how inept, unsuccessful you were at walking. NO, instead when you would fall down people would clap for you, being so proud of the effort and then the baby you would smile and gets back up again, until finally the body remembered the new walking program, so no thought was needed when you decided to walk and then to run. And it seemed to the baby you the walking happened naturally.
Some tips: Full directions for the 2 for 1 techniques are at the end of this article.
1. Emotions are a way for your mind to let you know that something needs to be looked, at attended to or worked on.
2. A helpless feeling can be useful when you learn how to track it back to the root (of where this reaction was set in). Once at the root stuffed emotions and limiting beliefs can be healed and released. I recommend doing this with a hypnotherapist trained in the Transformation System I developed.
3. Three steps for creating more acceptance of yourself:
Step 1: Give that younger you, that little child that lives in your memory a mental hug when anxiety creeps into your thoughts.
Step2: When you are feeling anxiety, worry or fear get into a curious state of mind.
By being curious (instead of blaming) changes your brain pattern to a more helpful one.
Say to yourself: I’m curious what that feeling is really about?
Step 3: Email me with questions: I’ll create an article that gives tips and specific tools to use.
Overview for the 2 For 1 Technique
(Cognitive Mind Tool)
To stop stress and anxiety caused when the mind races with negative, scary thoughts, you’ll want to experiment with this technique. Because this is a cognitive mind technique it will take a bit of practice, in time you’ll be delighted when new reactions become an automatic habit.
TIP: In my other articles, workshops and private sessions I give many hypnotic techniques that work in an instant. ,I also like to add the cognitive mind tools like the 2 For 1 Exercise because it give you something to start with. So start and experiment with the power of the mind.
OVERVIEW steps: (full directions follow the overview)
Step 1: Pick just one situation or event that you want to change.
Step 2: Make a list of the negative or upsetting thoughts or images.
Step 3: Begin to come up with possible positive thoughts or images that might also be true in that situation.
TIP: To help yourself to create positive enhancing thoughts and pictures, think of your thoughts as stories of different possible outcomes.
TIP: Stories aren’t true or false, they are just possibilities.
TIP: Since the future hasn’t happened yet, create positive possible stories about what might happen in the future.
Step 4: Create at lease two positive thoughts/stories for every negative one.
Step 5: Use the new (positive thoughts) to replace each upsetting one.
This will help you to change the habit of negative thinking.
Full Directions for the 2 for 1 technique:
1. Write down any negative thoughts you have going through your mind, about one situation. It’s important to write the thoughts, images, video or stories that causes you stress or anxiety because, by putting them down on paper you don’t have to keep going over them in your mind. Then it will be easier to begin to think of other possible (more positive) outcomes that could also be possible.
2. After identifying a negative thoughts or stories – STOP – and focus on the feelings they produce. As you become aware of feeling/emotions notice where the feeling is held in your body. Make a note of any words or images that go with the thoughts or feelings.
3. Sometimes a negative story or thought goes through the mind so quickly that at first you might not even conscious of it. Many people notice the physical reaction before realizing there were upsetting thoughts. So take a moment to search for the thoughts, and the physical reactions.
TIP: If you have difficulty finding the thought that is triggering a reaction, think about the event that caused upset.
TIP: Then, go to the moment just before the emotion was felt and think about what was going on.
TIP: Be curious and that will let you unconscious bring to the surface more information.
TIP: Being curious is the best state to bring thoughts and images into awareness.
4. Write down the thoughts, negative stories and images that go through your mind.
TIP: Negative thoughts can create a vicious cycle as more negative thoughts pop up to support the first one. This creates unnecessary anguish and stress. People can create many negative thoughts in just an instant. By recognizing a thought, it becomes possible to stop, and correct the unwanted thought process.
5. When you feel a bodily reaction, such as tightness, pain in the stomach, head, chest, etc. ask yourself the following question:
What am I thinking or saying to myself? I’m curious what this feeling is really about?
TIP: Remember there is always a trigger for bodily reactions.
6. Exercise to help identify thoughts that create upset.
a. For one day, pay attention to how many negative thoughts you create.
b. How often in a day do you have negative comments flowing through your mind?
c. Would you talk to your best friend this way? Would they still be your best friend ?
d. Is there a benefit that comes from speaking to yourself in this negative way? Ask yourself what do you gain?
e. What is the negative result of thinking in this way?
f. If you believe there is a benefit, can this benefit be gained in a different, more self-enhancing way?
7. Create 2 positive, believable possibilities (stories) for every negative thought.
8. Every time a negative thought moves through your mind, replace it with two positive ones.
a. The positives need to be something that is believable. For instance, saying I’ll handle it, is a positive statement that is believable, since we do handle things that come our way.
b. It will not help to say, everything is OK, if you do not truly feel this way, for then it is not a believable, positive statement.
9. Whenever you catch yourself thinking a negative thought, use the power of your own mind in a productive way.
a. Think of A BIG RED STOP SIGN, and hear the word STOP, shout out in your mind.
b. Then, say two of the positive thoughts that you have written down to replace each old negative one.
REMINDERS: 2 for 1 technique
a. Changing negative thoughts to positive ones is done at the conscious level at first.
b. Eventually the habit of changing negative thoughts into positives ones happens automatically, almost without any thought.
c. The positives need to be believable.
d. It takes time to change any habit. Just as an athlete practices to be good at his sport, this technique takes practice as well.
e. Practice this for three weeks, and be amazed at how automatic this positive habit becomes.
f. It sets up a new pattern in your brain and leads to more self-acceptance and confidence.
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