negative thoughts directed at ourselves

…need to be replaced with good thoughts.

When you have bad thoughts like
"I am so dumb!" you look for evidence to support this, and you find it — in little mistakes you make, in things that go wrong, in every awkward pause or forgotten detail. You become your own prosecutor, building a case against yourself with every dropped key and wrong turn.

When you have thoughts that are positive like
"I am brave and confident," you look for evidence to support that instead. And you start to see it — in the times you spoke up even when your voice shook, in the moments you tried something new, in the fact that you are still here, still showing up.

Depending on how much you have indulged in the negative, you may have trained your brain to be very good at collecting evidence against you. But brains are flexible. They can learn a new brief. They can be trained to look for signs of courage, creativity, compassion, effort — whatever it is you want to nurture.

It takes time. It takes noticing. But it’s not about lying to yourself — it’s about choosing to recognise the whole of yourself, not just the worst bits.

And maybe forgiving yourself for believing the worst for so long.

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