How to Stop Negative Thoughts From Taking Over

By Cheryl Wilson-Stewart | December 11, 2019 | Comments 21 comments

Sometimes it feels like negative thoughts have taken over our brains. They move in and refuse to budge reminding us of worst-case scenarios and incessantly asking what if? They tell us why we can’t do something and why none of our ideas will work.

Did you know we each think between 60,000-80,000 thoughts per day and the majority of these are habitual and the voices of fear, doubt, worry and anxiety? We infuse these thoughts with so much emotional energy, they become the biggest, loudest most powerful thoughts in our head.

Out with the old in with the new

We need a way to replace the negative, nagging thoughts with those representing the highest intentions of who we are and want to be. It’s not that we don’t have positive thoughts, we do. It’s just that they’re busy navigating the 1,000-lane thought expressway, battling thousands of blaring thought streams while attempting to generate energy and gain momentum.

It’s a tough go for these positive intentional thoughts.

You can see how the highest expression of who we are, what we want and how we want to live our lives might get lost in the chaos.

There’s good news!

The good news is that we, as the creator of our lives, can crank up the volume by becoming clear on what we want, choosing an intention and moving it from thought to action every morning.

Thoughts need activation

To activate, our intentions need fuel to move from head into heart. This fuel supply is provided by the emotions and allows for the integration of body and mind where the real magic happens.

It’s like this. When we understand something intellectually (left side of the brain) and then make it ‘experiential’ by moving it into our emotions (right side of the brain) we are providing the life-giving fuel our intentions need to be turned on. We can then think and feel the thought.

When we experience the thought, we can change.

The rewired brain

This experiential process actually rewires the brain, causing the neurons to create new patterns and producing a chemical that the body remembers as we move through the day.

This is also a form of what scientists call metacognition – which means it’s a way of tricking the brain into achieving our greatest good. We’ve successfully interrupted and distracted the negative disempowering thoughts with super charged intentional thoughts allowing them to break through the congestion and get to work.

OH, MY WORD gets the job done

When you do the simple five-minute OH MY WORD morning ritual it interrupts the negative thought patterns and alters the brain, causing the neurons to start firing in new ways. The mind remembers your intention and is on the lookout for ways to manifest and make it concrete.

You Think it. Feel it. Live it.

You are actively creating who you want to be by using just a word.

So, I ask you.

Who do you want to be? How do you want to express yourself?

Find a word that represents your deepest intention.

Draw the word.

Colour it.

Through the drawing and colouring process you’ve moved the thought from intellect (left side of the brain) to experiential (right side of the brain).

A new neural pathway has been created.

The rewiring process has begun.

Negative thought disabled.

Replaced by highest intention positive thought that you chose.

Bingo!

BUY OH, MY WORD in Canada at Chapters/Indigo

BUY OH, MY WORD in US and International at Amazon

Teens Release Anxiety with OH MY WORD

By Cheryl Wilson-Stewart | December 2, 2019 | Comments 8 comments

Teens release anxiety by doodling their intentions in OH MY WORD journal.

Today’s teenagers suffer from anxiety more than young people ever have. Social media creates expectation and social norms that are not real or grounded. Families are busy and stressed to the max. Human interaction is down and digital connection is up.

Teens need strategies more than ever before to thrive, release anxiety and positively shape their developing sense of self.

STRATEGY TO RELEASE ANXIETY

OH, MY WORD is a science based method of journaling that can release negative, anxious thoughts and replace them with positive ones. It’s a simple process that takes 5 minutes. The user chooses an intention word contained in the journal that reflects the person they want to be. They draw and colour it on the daily page. That’s it. In 5 minutes a new neural pathway has been created and the brain has begun to rewire itself with the positive intention.

OH, MY WORD allows journal-ers to replace negative thoughts with positive ones.

METACOGNITION

The thought interruption used in OH, MY WORD is part of a skill category called metacognition. Which is the act of thinking about thinking. It’s how we talk ourselves out of negative thought patterns and create positive ones. Metacognitive ability increases significantly during the teenage years, so it’s important to provide ways for teens to both choose and manage their thoughts in healthy ways.

OH, MY WORD HELPS TEENS THRIVE:

Reduces stress and anxiety
Increases feelings of relaxation and calmness
Increases self-acceptance
Helps create a strong sense of self

Teens need positive strategies to develop a strong sense of self

INTRODUCING OH, MY WORD TO TEENS

MAKE SURE THEY UNDERSTAND ‘WHY’

When we know ‘why’ we are motivated. Encourage teens to read the Four Pillars and The Intentions. This will help them connect to an understanding of how of OH, MY WORD works (which is pretty cool) and why it’s important. It will help them see they are not alone in dealing with anxiety and that we are all in the process of becoming the best version of ourselves.

PROVIDE THEM WITH A GAME PLAN

We all need game plans. OH, MY WORD provides your teen with an easy one. Simply choose an intentional word that describes the person they want to be. For example, if your teen gets nervous every time they write a test suggest words like one of these…

Today I choose to …. Believe (I know the material and it will come to me as I need it)

Today I choose to …. Trust (everything I need to know will come to me)

Today I choose to …. Relax (with a relaxed mind I can recall everything I need)

Today I choose to …… Excel (I am smart…I am more than capable of acing this test)

MAKE IT A CHALLENGE

Teens these days are into the various 30-day challenges that float around on social media. Challenge your teen to spend 5 minutes working in their OH, MY WORD journal every day and see how differently they feel at the end of 30 days.

SO EASY. 5 MINUTES A DAY. ONE WORD.

Teens like the rest of us are extremely busy so strategies have to be not only effective but fit into modern life. Five minutes a day one word. Doesn’t get easier than that.

HELPING TEENS RELEASE ANXIETY AND THRIVE

Its tough being a teen. Modern family life is full of distractions, activities and outside demands resulting in many families feeling disconnected and teenagers left to figure things out on their own. For answers to life problems they often look to friends or turn to the internet. While on one hand teens ‘look’ very sophisticated these days they are still….teens. We can’t expect them to have their own coping strategies in place nor can we solve all their problem for them. It is however our responsibly to acknowledge the difficulties they face and teach them skills that will help them cope and thrive. Establishing practices that support, uplift and strengthen them in daily life and give them life skills that they can benefit from for the rest of their lives.

The teen years are challenging ones.

Please share this with friends and loved ones and visit OH, MY WORD

BUY OH, MY WORD in Canada at Indigo

BUY OH, MY WORD US and International at Amazon