Ok, this might sound a bit harsh on the poor old Nat’s, but I promise no animals were harmed in the writing of this post, so hear me out…
NATs or ‘Negative Automatic Thoughts’ are straight up a pain in the peachy, perky, rock hard bum. It’s that little internal chatterbox nattering away saying, “I can’t do this” or “It’s too hard” or “Why does this always happen to me?” they are irritating, keep flying around our heads and make it hard to see past them. To see what we are actually made of, to see our true potential and inner awesomeness… they are a distraction and worth kicking to the curb!
So I have a suggestion for you, every time a limiting thought enters your mind, imagine that this thought is not actually your own opinion or actually anything to do with you (we are not our thoughts and we are not our mistakes), but an actual NAT, and you are simply going to squish it between your fingers and watch the dust fall to the ground into nothing-ness.
Once all those little NATs have been cleaned away you can start to notice the butterflies, the inspiring thoughts, the thoughts that bring you to life, the thoughts that anything could happen, then chase these, follow them, skip along with them, climb over gates and run through meadows to see where they go…See what could happen by chasing these awesome butterfly thoughts.
It’s a bit like worrying, but worrying about how successful you could be, how freakin’ amazing your life could be, what a difference you could make in the world and what you could really achieve!
For example…. Turn “I’m too big and unfit, I always let myself down” into “I’ve started to walk 10,000 steps every day and I feel better…. I could run a 5k eventually, I could even run and walk a 10k, that would be great exercise…. I might join a new class… Check me out in my new gym kit looking all slim and happy! Hey Gorgeous, looking good! I could join a running group and make new friends… I might even meet someone who could help me further my career or inspire me to start things I’d never even though of, who knows… I might get sponsored by Nike, then they will want me to model for them, I’d get all the free kit I could ever dream of… They would want me in their adverts and fly me all over the world… I could create my own brand…”
You get the idea… daydream about all the possibilties out there. You only have to look around you to see dreams do come true! Look at 1 Direction, a bunch of boys who they shoved together as a last thought on x-factor have literally taken over the world. Look at the people who inspire you, they all have a story… you get to decide what yours will be!
What do you want? Decide. Decision is the ultimate power! Go and chase it!
Everything starts as a thought and as you open your mind up to more amazing options you will start to see amazing things happen!
Let me know what you chase! I’d love to hear from you!
Love Aimie xx