Reframing your mind can help you change the way you think and act. As Mark Twain humorously points out, the majority of the things we fear never actually happen. Instead of our minds whispering supportive phrases to move us forward, they shout disturbing scary reasons why things will not work out. A lot of times, instead of optimistic thoughts, our minds are constantly ambushed by negative visions and thoughts of the horrors that may befall us, our gremlins. Once we have made the decision to create change in our lives, it doesn’t just happen. My life has been filled with terrible misfortunes, most of which have never happened.

Some examples of negative beliefs are: “I’m not good enough,” “I don’t deserve to have a good life,” and “I am not attractive.” They can also be about our body image and self-esteem. These beliefs can be about anything from happiness to relationships to success. They can be about ourselves, others, or the world. Negative beliefs are thoughts that have a negative impact on our lives. I love to hear your comments and hope in this present time that this mind-set helps you reframe your thoughts.Introduction: What are Negative Beliefs? and why we need to understand the power of reframing? Keep in mind that the idea of this exercise is not to reject your self-criticisms, but to first acknowledge them, and then use them as a springboard into a more positive, productive way of thinking about yourself.

When you are finished, tear up or burn your old list from point 2 (to symbolically release the negatives), and keep your original list of positives (from point 1) and your new “reframed” list (from point 3) to review periodically to help keep your self-esteem on track. In some cases, you may need to be creative to find the “silver lining.”) (For example, if you wrote “I can’t jump higher than 2 feet,” you might write the new version of “I’ve increased my jumping ability by 6 inches during the last year” or “I can jump with more accuracy than I could 2 months ago.” Another example might be if you wrote “I don’t like my face,” you might rewrite it as “my nose gives me a wonderful, unique character all my own” or “my eyes convey my beauty and love very clearly.” Make sure that you are still being honest in the new version you write – only write things that you honestly feel. Now go through the list from point 2 and – on a new sheet of paper – write a new positive version for each that “reframes” it in a self-supporting, self-encouraging way. Next, write a list of things you’d like to improve about yourself, or that are still “in process” – things you don’t like about yourself, etc. Write a list of all the positive things about yourself – all the things you like, things people have complimented you on, your strengths, talents, and abilities, positive aspects of your character, appearance, etc. The following exercise will help you reframe your negative mental “snapshots” of yourself – replacing the dreary, old frame that surrounds each thought with a bright, shiny new one. You can reframe your negative thoughts about yourself into positive ones that support you instead of tearing you down. To increase self-esteem, try changing the way you think about yourself.

Reframing negative thoughts