Your Thoughts Become Your Reality: 3 Hacks to Get Your Head in the Right Place

"You spend most of your time in your head... make it a nice place to be"

I like that quote. It's a reminder to be mindful of our thoughts because they become our reality. I think we need that reminder this time of year.

This time of year can be difficult, and our thoughts can make it worse.

Most of us are facing new challenges right now. It's not just our own goals and self-imposed stress it is stress from the roles we play.

If you're in tech, maybe on an onboarding or implementation team - you're now super busy with all the clients that the sales team closed in Q4 because they had to make their number.

If you're on a Sales or Marketing Team, you just closed a year and you've likely been handed a new number for 2024...and I am guessing it’s bigger than last year. 

Whatever role you're in, you can get emotionally caught up in how hard this time of year feels. When a change comes up, we can react with negative emotions. If you are complaining about it, even if you keep it to yourself and it's in your own head... then you're making your days more difficult.

Here's the science - when you have emotionally charged, negative thoughts - your limbic system (the reptilian brain – the part that is not as evolved) takes over! That means it takes energy from and your prefrontal cortex, which is used for cognitive functioning and organization - As a result, you can't think as clearly.

You're not only making yourself stressed and unhappy, you're making your work harder.

So - get your brain back in a good place. Replace some of those negative thoughts about how hard THIS is, with some positive thoughts. 

Here are three mental hacks to trigger your back into a better headspace:

1 - Remember how you got here. That feeling of success when you graduated, or when you found out you got this job. The thing that you overcame that most people don’t even know about.

2- Remember, they chose you over other people who wanted it. Whether you work for yourself or a large corporation, you are the person with the skills and experience to do your job. Someone else might have a similar resume, but they aren’t doing it – you are! You had - and still have, what it takes. You are the best person to handle this new challenge.

3 - Remember your talents and skills. Make a list if it helps. There are things you are good at, skills you have learned, certifications, or training that you’ve gone through to level up. Your skill has gotten you this far. You did that! This current challenge is an opportunity to learn and grow and it will get you to a higher level of expertise. 

You can make the year ahead less frustrating by changing your narrative. The thoughts in your mind, come out of your mouth and become your story. Choose to be proud that you are the one doing a hard job. Show everyone what you’ve got and do it to the absolute best of your ability.  When things get tough, instead of going negative… remember where you’ve been, what you’ve gotten through and your skills - and say, ‘I got THIS’.