How to respond to unhelpful thoughts
Weekly technique
You may not be able to completely turn off your brain when it questions your abilities, downplays your progress, or tries to convince you to give up on your journey, especially after a setback. But you can respond with hard facts to change the conversation.
Try this!
1. Recognize unhelpful thoughts.
Look out for self-talk that moves you farther from your goals.
“Ugh I ruined my tracking streak. I can’t stick to anything. Why bother trying?!”
2. Give yourself a reality check with these two questions:
Are there facts to back up the thought?
What would I say to a friend who thought this?
3. Respond with a new thought.
Acknowledge the reality of what happened and a more helpful thought or what action you can take next.
“Losing my streak is a bummer, but tracking has kept me aware of my eating; missing one day doesn’t change that. I can go back and track now…and start a new streak.”
Let’s dive a little deeper…
As humans, it’s normal to just accept whatever our brains tell us—especially because so many of our thoughts are automatic. Sometimes it works in our favor: For example, telling yourself a nighttime noise is the wind (often true) helps you relax so you can go back to sleep.
But because thoughts drive actions, when our brain tells us things that are unhelpful and factually incorrect (“I totally blew it!” “I can’t do this!”), accepting them as truth can make this journey harder—or push you off track. So step one is noticing when they pop up, then fact-checking them before they impact what you do.
We’re not suggesting you ignore the realities of a setback or challenge. Rather it’s about acknowledging all the realities: Yes, you made a mistake or are experiencing difficulties, and you can also learn from it and keep moving toward your goals.