Strategies to Improve Thoughts
The Headway Thoughts Strategies Section includes daily practices that have been shown to contribute to health and wellness. The practices are arranged into twelve categories, each with multiple action steps. We encourage you to select one or more action steps to practice daily. Click on the bonus exercises for additional daily thought practices. Give this process some time, and you will notice small changes in your thoughts and emotions. Thanks for joining us on this journey to sharpen your skills and redefine your life.
Strategies to Improve Thoughts:
The initial step in managing thoughts is to become aware of thoughts and how they influence us. Thoughts are not reality; they are our interpretation of reality. By cultivating Awareness, we can avoid confusing our thoughts with reality. We become aware that as helpful as thinking can be, thoughts can also be harmful. For example, think about how your internal self-talk can be highly destructive or how the wrong words spoken aloud can create so much suffering. Awareness helps us notice our thoughts and consciously decide how to respond to them rather than simply reacting mindlessly. Awareness teaches us that thoughts are just thoughts; we do not have to believe or even pay attention to all of them. Thoughts are powerful; they change how we see things and feel inside, and inevitably, they determine our spoken words and belief systems. Our thoughts make us who we are.
1. Awareness and Letting Go Of Thoughts
Time Traveling In Your Mind
Action Steps:
Question harmful thoughts, and ask yourself, “Is it necessarily or always ….true?”
Notice when negative thoughts affect you emotionally, acknowledge their impact, let go, and intentionally focus your attention on something good in your life or the present moment. Remind yourself that thoughts are powerful and deserve careful attention.
Imagine thoughts are like clouds passing by: notice and decide to engage or let them pass away.
Challenge or question thoughts that make you angry, ashamed, guilty, anxious, or fearful (like thinking you can’t do something or you might fail).
Reduce the volume of thoughts by letting unhelpful thoughts go and savoring or just being present in the moment (non-doing, just being). Try to let go of the wish for things to be different and accept the way things are.
Use single-tasking to reduce distractions and stay focused on whatever you are doing.
Pay attention to variability during the day. Things are not one way or another; everything changes. Sometimes we feel one way, but not always. Notice and honor the subtle changes in how you feel and think as you go through your day. Two opposing things can be true at the same time, and they might conflict with one another.
2. Thoughts Change How Your Brain Works
Just like muscles in the body change when we engage in physical exercise, our brains change in response to our thoughts and actions. The more specific thought patterns are practiced, the stronger the connections between the neurons associated with that thought become. We can use this knowledge to change how our brains work, literally.
Thoughts are influenced by how we engage with them. If we respond emotionally or focus excessively on negative thoughts, they are likely to linger or intensify. Paying attention to our thoughts is crucial, and responding with the appropriate type and amount of attention is equally important.
What you Practice Grows Stronger
Action Steps: Practicing The Art of Mindfulness
Strive to create an internal world of love, acceptance, compassion, and positivity.
Strengthen Mindfulness: Learn to pay attention, without judgment, to whatever is happening. Notice others' voice tone, body language, facial expression, and overall appearance.
When you first meet someone each day, look into their eyes until you can see their eye color, practice smiling when you meet them, and make an effort to speak.
We are all the same: When you are frustrated because someone is annoying you, think to yourself, “We are all the same,” to remind yourself that you may be just as frustrating to them as they are to you.
Relax into your daily experience and allow whatever is happening to happen, bringing clear, compassionate awareness to it as it happens.
Release the urge to make things different and instead focus on observing and accepting life as it is, moment by moment, even when circumstances are challenging.
A healthy mind is a calm mind: Focus attention without judgment on whatever is happening now. When your mind wanders to the past or the future, notice and return your attention to the present.
Don't worry about always making the right decision. Think more about how to make all of your choices right.
3. Develop a Healthy Headspace
A Healthy Headspace is when you are satisfied with your life and at peace in your mind. In a healthy headspace, you feel a sense of balance, and most of the time, you don’t want to be anywhere other than where you are.
To develop a healthier Headspace, focus more on positive or constructive thoughts, minimizing your attention to thoughts that induce stress or negative feelings. Thoughts are influenced heavily by how we attend to them. Giving thoughts the right kind and amount of attention is vital: more attention to helpful positive thoughts and less attention to thoughts that create stress or increase negative emotions.
Action Steps: Practice a Positive Mindset
Start Strong --- When you wake up, as soon as your feet hit the floor, say, “Today is going to be a great day.”
As you leave work, think about one success you had during the day.
Keep a Gratitude Journal and write down one positive thing about your day
Deliberately seek out and spend time with a positive person
Read a positive, uplifting book or article
Recall one fun, joyous moment or experience and tell someone about it.
What you practice grows stronger.
Practice daily positive affirmations, believe them, and let them sink in.
I am happy at this moment
I did a great job
Yes, I am succeeding
Way to go
You’ve got this
-
Bonus Exercise, FYI
Developing a Happy Brain
Dr. Richie Davidson, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin, has developed a theory of how a happy brain operates. Based on neuroimaging studies, his group has identified four independent brain circuits that influence our well-being,
1. “Our ability to maintain a positive state.” This is the art of holding on to the good, savoring and enjoying small daily accomplishments, and noticing and enjoying the good in life. According to some, this starts with love and compassion.
2. “Our ability to recover from negative states.” When we fall into a rut, as we all do, how resilient are you, and how well can you let go and move forward?
3. “Our ability to focus and avoid mind-wandering.” This is the circuit developed by meditation practices in which you learn to change your relationship with thoughts, to let go and return your attention to an anchor in the present moment.
4. “Our ability to be generous.” We have an entire independent brain circuit devoted to generosity and appreciation of others. We are hardwired to relate to and cooperate with other beings. From the moment we enter this world, we instinctively know we cannot survive without help from others, and we have a primary need to be connected socially. Generosity and compassion for others help us survive.
These four circuits develop independently and have been observed in multiple neuroimaging studies. These circuits also exhibit neuroplasticity, which means intentional daily practices can change them. Many of the strategies in this self-help guide are specifically designed to strengthen these four circuits.
4. Practicing the Art of Presence
Every day is new, different from all the rest, unique in its own way, and it deserves to be celebrated with its newness. Being fully present is how we appreciate the uniqueness, beauty, and certainty of the present moment and the uncertainty of all other moments. To be happy, we must learn to be present in the moment because happiness can’t be found or even exist anywhere else.
Focusing on the past or the future tends to make us less happy. This can lead to dissatisfaction with the present moment, resisting the present, and wanting things to be better or somehow different from how things are. Being present and accepting life leads to greater happiness and joy.
Action Steps: Notice when you are mind-wandering and return your attention to the present moment.
Accept the present moment even when it is difficult; it is always your friend.
Say to yourself, "Life is challenging at times," "It is what it is," "Life does not always go my way," or “I am content in this moment.”
Notice when you resist, judge, or are closed-minded about the present moment and let these thoughts/emotions pass.
Notice and hold on to things that bring you joy or happiness in the present moment.
Use Mindful Breathing to anchor yourself in the present
Use single-tasking to reduce distractions and stay focused on whatever you are doing
Take a nature walk and focus on savoring the beauty (not thinking about your worries)
Practice a Mindful Eating Meditation to help you slow down and appreciate your food
Try a body scan or open awareness meditation to ground you in the present
5. Getting out of Your Own Way
Distancing yourself from negative thoughts and ruminations creates a space for positive experiences and growth. If your brain is filled with negativity, there is not enough room for positive thoughts to flourish.
Getting out of your way is overcoming self-doubt and limiting beliefs. This fosters personal growth, enhances confidence, and promotes positive emotions.
Unhealthy thoughts come in many flavors. Some of the more common varieties include:
Automatic Negative Thoughts (commonly referred to as ANTS): Old thoughts from the past that have become part of our belief systems.
Toxic Thinking: False beliefs acquired because of clever advertisements or manipulation by others.
Chatter: Jumping from one thought to another in a seemingly random manner,
Monkey Brain: Mindless decisions, usually due to wants, desires, or fears.
Negative Self-Talk: Thoughts driven by shame and guilt about the past or fear of the future.
Infinity Words: Negative perspectives are caused by using words like should, never, always, and constantly.
Action Steps: Daily Strategies for Distancing and Reducing Thoughts
When you are suffering, ask yourself how you would experience the same situation if you did not have negative thoughts about the problem.
Call your name and say to yourself________Stop, creating a negative narrative about the situation. It is the narrative that causes your anxiety, not the problem.
Suggest a neutral or positive alternative to harmful thoughts. Remind yourself that thoughts are just thoughts.
Focus on how you feel more than the narrative in your head about your feelings; try to let the narrative go.
When you have a self-critical thought, take a deep breath and exhale slowly, letting the thought pass as you do.
Give yourself an alternative that conflicts with the negative thought. Say you are good at…better than…, working on it… trying your best… healthy, doing fine, and letting the harmful thoughts go (like passing clouds in the sky).
Learn a meditation to ground yourself in the present moment and help you distance yourself from hurtful thoughts. See the bonus exercise on Mindfulness Meditation at the end of this section.
Reduce information intake to avoid overstimulation (overthinking)
Set a “worry time “to think about things you are stressed about.
Increase physical activity when complex thoughts intrude.
-
Mindfulness Meditation Exercise
1. Sit upright or cross-legged on the floor. Make yourself comfortable and at ease, but position your body so that you feel dignified and erect. Close your eyes or slightly reduce your gaze to filter out distractions. Place your hands in your lap or on your knees.
2. Select a body sensation like your breath and focus on an aspect of that sensation that comes to your attention, for example, the temperature of the air coming in or the slight warming of the breath as it leaves or the rise and fall of the belly as you inhale and exhale. Gently hold your attention on the sensation you select. Most people use the breath, but it can be any sensation, such as sitting and knowing that you are sitting, open awareness of your senses, or a progressive body scan.
3. Breathe in through your nose, allowing the air to fill your lungs. Allow your belly to expand fully as you inhale. Exhale slowly through your mouth, holding your lips slightly open to let the air out slowly. Repeat this pattern, noticing any sensations that arise anywhere in the body. A few long exhales will usually slow down your heart rate and lower your blood pressure, helping you achieve a state of calm.. Continue slow, steady breathing and try to hold your focus on the sensations of the body and the sensory experiences you may notice.
4. When you have thoughts, notice that you are thinking and gently bring your attention back to the sensations of your breath or other sensations you may feel. When you get distracted by thoughts, gently bring yourself back to the sensations you feel. Don’t worry if you keep having thoughts initially; this is normal and part of the process.
5. Sit in the moment without expecting or doing anything. Hold your attention on your sensations, and gently bring your focus back to the object or sensation you use as your anchor when you start to think about anything else. Simply note that you are thinking again and gently bring yourself back. Trying to meditate will only frustrate you. It is not something you can do; it happens when you allow yourself to let go of thinking and doing and hold your focus on the sensations of the moment.
6. Distance Yourself from Toxic Social Media or People
Action Steps: Take Breaks from Toxic Social Media, TV, or People
1. Set time limits on news or social media.
2. Make a daily schedule to keep busy with healthy, constructive activities.
3. Schedule detox days/ times away from social media.
4. Engage in hobbies involving person-to-person games, nature, or being with pets.
5. Limit screen viewing to certain times of day.
6. Take a break from Social Media
7. Engage in more outdoor activities.
8. Engage more with your pet(s).
9. Surround yourself with positive influences that uplift and inspire you.
10. Set boundaries with toxic people: Develop a healthy detachment
Identify limits
Communicate clearly
Be consistent
Stay calm
Limit interactions
Prepare for resistance
Seek support
7. Visualize Success To Support a Healthy Headspace
Visualization strategies can counter self-doubt and negativity, fostering positive energy, confidence, and an optimistic outlook. Visualizing creates a clear mental picture of success, boosts confidence and motivation, and improves one's chances of reaching one's goals. Adding intense emotion to the visualization increases the chances of manifesting this destiny.
Action Steps :
Imagine a crowd cheering you on.
Imagine a big hug from someone you admire.
Vividly imagine how success might feel and connect emotionally to these feelings in a focused, meditative state.
Imagine receiving a beautiful thank-you gift or award.
Imagine thoughts are like a waterfall you can stand behind without getting wet.
Visualize a safe space where you feel comfortable, like a beach, forest, or cozy room. This is a mental space where you feel soothed and relaxed. Notice how this place affects each of your senses.
Visualize future success, and picture yourself overcoming challenges to achieve goals. Take 10 to 20 seconds to feel yourself being successful, allowing your body to feel the future success as if it were happening.
Imagine how you will feel once you master a challenge.
Visualize yourself confidently succeeding in a situation where you previously felt insecure.
Visualize and recall a moment when you were grateful or pleased.
Try colored breathing; imagine inhaling a color that represents calmness (like blue or green) and exhaling a color that represents negativity (like gray or black). This strategy can help clear your mind and promote relaxation.
8. Use Positive Imagination With Visualization Strategies to counter self-doubt and negativity and create a more positive mindset.
Repeat phrases that reinforce your strengths and capabilities, such as “I am capable” or “I deserve happiness.” As you do this, imagine getting a big hug from someone you admire or a crowd cheering you on or a beautiful thank-you gift or award
Visualize a safe space where you feel comfortable, like a beach, forest, or cozy room. This is a mental space where you feel soothed and comfortable. Notice how this place affects each of your senses.
Visualize future success, and picture yourself overcoming challenges to achieve goals.
Imagine how you might feel once you master a challenge
Visualize yourself confidently succeeding in a situation where you previously felt insecure.
Visualize a moment you were grateful or pleased
Try colored breathing; imagine inhaling a color that represents calmness (like blue or green) and exhaling a color that represents negativity (like gray or black). This can help clear your mind and promote relaxation.
9. Strengthen Self- Compassion
Compassion comes from empathy and concern for ourselves and others. Self-compassion means treating yourself like a friend or doing something nice for yourself. It may feel awkward, but it’s great to be kind to yourself and to do nice things for yourself occasionally.
Self-compassion is also about accepting our common humanity, Which means understanding that we are not alone when we face difficulties or challenges. Every person is flawed and imperfect. If you make a mistake, try not to criticize yourself harshly; remember, you are imperfect like everyone else. Embracing our common humanity helps us feel more connected to others because we realize we all share this imperfect nature.
Action Steps: Accept that everyone makes mistakes and experiences setbacks. Treating yourself with compassion can improve your mental resilience.
Accept when you make mistakes. Say, “I will try harder,” but it’s okay to be imperfect.
Recognize that failures and frustrations are natural and necessary for growth.
Become more aware of your inner critic and challenge negative or critical self-talk.
Practice expressive writing to help you cope with emotions
Hug yourself.
Be kind to yourself; talk to yourself like you would a good friend.
Recognize our common humanity: that we are all flawed.
Practice self-care; listen to your body.
Reflect on your positive qualities.
Limit comparisons with others.
Set realistic expectations, seeking excellence but not perfection.
Write a self-compassion letter.
Watch a self-compassion video - See video on this page.
10. Observing Your Thoughts, Identify Biases and Distortions
Notice your Biases; we all have them
Identify a bias you want to work on today and counter it with
Negativity Bias: Focusing more on negative aspects than positive ones.
Confirmation Bias: Seeking information that confirms existing beliefs.
Availability Bias: Overestimating the likelihood of events based on how easily they come to mind.
Anchoring Bias: Relying on the first piece of information that comes to mind when making decisions.
Selection Bias: Choosing information that supports our desire to see things a certain way.
Attribution Bias: Attributing a person’s behavior to their characteristics or disposition rather than their situation.
Notice Cognitive Distortions and counter them when they show up.
All-or-nothing thinking (you are either for me or against me; everything is either black or white).
Generalizing (if it happened once, it will always happen again).
Mental filters (seeing the world through filters colored by your experiences).
Jumping to conclusions (forming assumptions based on limited information).
Exaggeration (magnifying or minimizing situations).
Emotional reasoning (I feel this; therefore, it must be true).
Shoulds (attempting to motivate yourself).
Attaching labels to categorize things in a limited way ignores the bigger picture.
Notice when you see yourself as the cause of a negative event for which you were not primarily responsible.
Notice when you are being judgmental or closed-minded; we all do this.
11. Strengthen Positive Thoughts
Strengthening positive thoughts through words, mantras, quotes, and poems fosters a mindset of gratitude and resilience, empowering you to embrace life's challenges with optimism and hope.
Action Steps: Use Post-it Notes, Quotes, or Mantras to remind you to be grateful for the positive qualities of life.
Write an inspirational note to yourself and carry it in your pocket or post it where you will see it. Examples include:
Today is going to be a great day
What you practice grows stronger
Everything is as it should be
Just notice and let go.
My thoughts are like a waterfall; I can stand behind and notice them without getting wet.
My thoughts are like clouds passing by if I don't engage
My thoughts/emotions are like fish in the pond; I am the pond, not the fish
I am fine just at this moment
I am enough
I choose to focus on positive thoughts
I am capable of achieving my dreams
I have nowhere to go, nothing to do.
Find an object that can be your lucky charm or a small thing you carry with you to remind you to practice positive thoughts
Make a list of meaningful positive quotes or thoughts you like and post them so you will see and remember:
"The only way to do great work is to love what you do." Steve Jobs.
"The best way to predict the future is to create it." Peter Drucker.
"Happiness is not something ready-made; it comes from your actions." Dalai Lama.
12. Practice Gratitude
Regularly expressing gratitude for the good things in your life can shift your focus from what you lack to what you have, fostering a more positive mindset about life and making it easier to enjoy and be fully present in every moment.
Keep a Gratitude Journal and write about one positive aspect of your life
Deliberately spend time with a positive person
Read a positive, uplifting book or article
Recall one fun, positive moment or experience from the past and tell someone about it.
Deliberately use more positive words like love, hope, strength, happiness, and courage, and mentally note how often you do this.