How to think something new

We decide things are going wrong when we think the same things we’ve always thought but we want to think something new.  Our brains give us the answers that have worked in the past – like eat ice cream if you are sad.  

If you are trying to lose weight then eating ice cream any time you are sad might not be the solution you are looking for.

To get our brains to offer us a different solution we need to teach it to do so.

The great news is that we CAN think whatever we want.  We can teach our brains that the old habits don’t align with who we are today.  

Accept that it isn’t a problem that this happens

It’s not a problem that the old solutions come up. It’s our job to redirect our brain to help it see that there are other alternatives.  From the time you were a toddler you were told to watch out for danger every time you walked around a room. Even before that – when when we had to watch out for lions or tigers on our daily walk – our brains alerted us to potential danger. This isn’t new – it’s not a problem.

Our job now is to reassure ourselves that the real ‘danger’ is always doing what we’ve done. We are trying to change our habits. Trying to create new responses for ourselves. Sometimes our mind will hold on to the old patterning longer than we’d like. It’s really very sure that ice cream solves all misery. It doesn’t care that it ALSO creates the misery of being overweight. Once we realize that we don’t have to be annoyed, or surprised, that our mind keeps going back to the old way of thinking we can move on.

So, how to think something new?

When we decide to start thinking something new and we often have to start doing it intentionally. Redirecting our minds to new thoughts is what will create different results. It is our habit brain that keeps repeating the patterns it has set up. The more you offer a new pattern the more ingrained that new pattern will become. This is the same as building any muscle in your body. It takes time to create the strength and definition you are looking for but with repeated exercise, it will happen.

I am offering FREE Mini Coaching Sessions if you want to get coached on how to make this a reality for you or any other topic on your mind.