Red balloons, green balloons, and overcoming fear and doubt

Whether we realize it or not, most of us are running a steady gauntlet of negative thoughts and beliefs. They affect what we can achieve in life, and often we don't even realize they exist. This article is on the mental game in rock climbing, but the ideas it outlines are equally applicable to creating what you want in your life.

Here, it talks about minimizing the effects of fear and doubt:

Become aware of your thoughts. Normally thoughts will come and go and you will hardly notice. Watch for feelings of inadequacy, criticism, feelings of stress, worry. Awareness is the first step. As you become more aware of your thoughts you can learn to control them.

Simple awareness can be a huge thing. I repeatedly see clients experience substantial changes in how they experience their lives, simply by beginning to be aware of when the negative messages they are sending pop up. "Wow! I didn't realize I did that so much," is a common response.

Rather than just saying, "I'm not going to think those negative thoughts any more," the article suggests replacing negative thoughts with positive ones.

But how do you not think of something? If someone says "do not think of a red balloon", you immediately visualize a red balloon whether you want to or not. Not thinking of something is more difficult than thinking about something. When you get a thought that is counter productive, make a conscious effort to visualize it's opposite. Speak the opposite if possible, or at least speak it sub-vocally. For example: "red balloon": now think of a green balloon and say "green balloon" out loud. It is now green. Use this technique to conquer doubt, negative thoughts and reinforce your good technique, confidence, and positive self-image. You are what you think, so think what you want yourself to be.

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Curt Rosengren

Passion Catalyst  ^SM

Career passion e-books

Comments

[woolstar]

That must be what the Tick is doing when he yells "Spoon". Wonder what he was thinking before.

[Rhonda Olsen]

Developing awareness is without doubt the first step to creating thoughts that will lead to the experiences we truly want in our lives. I think it's really important, too, to remain gentle with ourselves as we become more conscious of our limiting thoughts and beliefs. There can be a tendancy to feel wrong or badly for having them and beating ourselves up in the process. When we can give ourself permission to acknowledge them with compassion and allow them to be,the process of releasing them and filling our subconscious with the empowering thoughts we desire happens with much greater ease.