STOP BEING SO HARD ON YOURSELF
If you make one mistake that does not make you a bad person. We tend to be extremely hard on ourselves with our negative thoughts and self-talk. Those struggling with Negative Thinking Patterns develop inner rules and order to live by. This can often limit their ability to grow, creating a lot of frustration, anger and negative behaviors.
Taking the time to understand how our thoughts effect our behaviors and emotions is critical in reducing negative self-talk, and harmful behaviors.
Click Here For The SAM Worksheet For Breaking Your Own Rules
ACKNOWLEDGE OUR MISTAKE
Write down a time in your life you felt bad about about your actions.
What was the situation? What Happened? What were your thoughts?
What did you do to break your own rules? What was the bad thing you did?
IDENTIFY OUR RULE
Based on what you did wrong, what is your rule?
What is the law, how did you break the rule?
What is allowed and what is not allowed, at what point did you cross the line?
What does this rule do to make you think and act?
UNDERSTANDING OUR RULE
Why do you have this rule? When did you begin using this rule?
Where does this rule come from?
What happened in your life that made you develop this rule?
Why is this a good rule to have?
SHOULD THE RULE EXIST
Every rule has pro's and cons, list them.
What are the benefits of this rule?
How has it helped you in your life?
What sucks about the rule? be real.
How has it not been helpful in your life?
MOVING FORWARD
Could you live without this rule? Do you need it?
Could you make any small changes to this rule?
What about big changes?
What could you do to improve this rule to be less hard on yourself?
How can you change this rule do improve your behaviors?
What can you change about the rule to have less 'cons', negative impact?
How will you use this new rule?
This is a great exercise to practice while meditating.
Click Here For The SAM Worksheet For Breaking Your Own Rules
