How to Transform Negative Thoughts and Reclaim Your Energy

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Ever found yourself exhausted from battling negative thoughts? You're not alone. What if those pesky inner critics weren't actually your enemies, but misguided protectors you could transform into powerful allies?

Throughout this episode, I dive into the counterintuitive approach to handling the negative voices in our heads—what I playfully call our "gremlins." These aren't malevolent forces conspiring against us, but outdated protection mechanisms trying to keep us safe in the only way they know how. Drawing from personal experiences and professional coaching insights, I share why fighting against these thoughts actually amplifies their power and drains our precious energy.

The transformation begins with a simple yet profound shift: instead of resisting your gremlin, invite it in. Acknowledge its message, thank it for its protective intentions, and then offer it a new role in your life story. This ritual of recognition and redirection doesn't reject the gremlin's energy but repurposes it for your benefit. As one client beautifully described after practicing this approach, "My gremlin has become my greatest ally—checking in regularly to ask how it can support me today."

Whether you're facing important decisions, stepping into new challenges, or simply tired of the energy drain from negative self-talk, this episode offers a practical framework to shift your relationship with your inner critic. Take a moment today to tune into that voice—what outdated message is it repeating, and how might you thank it and rewrite its script? Your transformed ally is waiting to support you in ways you never imagined possible.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
How much time and energy do you spend trying to
get rid of negative thoughts orstressing about the fact that
you have them at all?
Hey, I'm Lisa Hopkins.
Welcome back to CoachingInsights from the room where it
happens.
In these short episodes, Ishare moments pulled straight
from the coaching room orpersonal reflection, something

(00:20):
to spark awareness, offer you atool, shift your energy and
remind you of your power tochoose.
Let's talk about energy and thevoices inside our heads.
Everything is energy, thoughtsare energy, and negative,
unproductive thoughts take upway more energy than positive,

(00:41):
generative thoughts.
Why?
Well, because it takes energyto resist.
So when I was a kid and mybrother teased me, it really
wound me up.
My mom and dad would tell me tojust ignore him, and so, armed

(01:01):
with this sage advice, I wentaround actively trying to ignore
him, even when he wasn'ttaunting me.
I actually skipped around thehouse singing ignore, ignore,
ignore, drawing even moreattention to the thing that I
was trying to well ignore.
So think of my brother as yourgremlin.

(01:25):
You know the voice in your headthat delivers the negative
message.
Now, as counterintuitive as itseems, trying to ignore or fight
the negative thought onlydepletes your energy and
amplifies its message.
It draws your focus to the verything you don't want to be

(01:46):
thinking about and away fromwhat you do want to focus on.
But here's the thing aboutgremlins they're not evil or
nefarious.
They're not conspiring to takeus down.
They're hardwired to keep ussafe.
But even with the best ofintentions, if left unchecked,

(02:19):
well, they can really take usoff course.
We all have them, and the goodnews is there's a way to
repurpose their energy.
First of all, it's reallyimportant to recognize that they
aren't separate from us.
They are part of our energeticprofile.
That means that we get torewrite their dialogue and

(02:39):
recast the role that they playin our lives.
So take a moment, take a momentright now to draw awareness
around the message of yourgremlin and get clear about the
message that isn't serving youright now, the one that you want
to re-script.

(03:00):
It's usually something alongthe lines of you weren't good
enough.
You know you're not ready.
No, don't do it now.
A message that creates doubt orworry and keeps you from moving
forward.
Take the time you need to thinkabout this.

(03:21):
Drawing awareness is key.
Sometimes it helps to give yourgremlin a name.
Think of it like an old friendyou used to know, rather than a
dragon, that you have to slaythe quintessential doubting
Thomas who, by definition, is askeptic that won't believe in

(03:41):
anything unless there is proof.
It makes sense that yourgremlin shows up, especially
when you're trying something newor near your edge, because it
has no data to support that youwill succeed because you've
never done it before.
It's innocently just trying tokeep you safe and I know, I know

(04:04):
my friends, it doesn't feelthat way, but I promise you it's
true.
The message it's sending you isan old one and it's our job,
our job as a good friend toeducate and update our gremlin's
message to something that willserve us better now, something

(04:26):
that matches where we're at Timefor an upgrade, a reboot, a
re-script, a recasting.
It's helpful to take a momentto remember when you first
encountered this friend and howthey may have helped protect you
from failure or embarrassment,or maybe taking on anything too

(04:49):
difficult or dangerous.
Maybe their crude message youare not good enough was just a
primitive way to make sure thatyou prepared thoroughly.
But now, as an experiencedadult, do you still need to
motivate yourself with fear?

(05:12):
Many of my clients haveritualized these old messages.
They deplete their energy bybelieving they have to operate
this way or they'll fail,missing out on so many new
possibilities.
Again, while the message mayhave helped you once, it's old
data, you don't require itanymore.
But instead of trying to shutit out, there's something that

(05:38):
we can do.
I learned this in my trainingat IPAC.
It's a kind of ritual that wedo with our gremlin, and this is
kind of my version of it.
I want to share it with you andit's really, really important.
It's important to acknowledgeit first, to identify it,

(06:03):
identify its message, invite itin, sit it down and say Gremlin,
and again, you may have a namefor it.
I'm not going to name it aftermy brother.
Whatever you've named it rightnow, I'll just call it hey,
gremlin, come on in.
Thank you for the role you'veplayed in my life and fill in

(06:26):
that role with whatever it was,so it might be.
Thank you so much for keepingme safe by making me remember to
rehearse my lines over and overagain before the school play or
make sure my clothes are cleanso that nobody laughs at me, etc

(06:47):
.
My socks were matched.
Whatever it is, whatever themessage is, that is, you're not
ready.
You better be careful.
This is too dangerous, whateverit might be.
Identify it, remember, rememberwhen it showed up the first
time and thank it.

(07:10):
Thank you for helping me getthis far by telling me and fill
in the blank but I've got this.
And then offer it something new.
Offer it a new script, a newrole in your life.
You want it in your life story.

(07:30):
I don't need you to help memotivate in this way anymore.
You can say to it but I couldreally use your energy to help
me in another way.
You hear how inviting that is,because repurposing its energy

(07:52):
to better support you releasesany negative energy and creates
a new relationship with yourfriend, your voice in your head.
I call it my ally.
My gremlin has been transformedinto my ally and I check in
with it on a regular basis andsay, hey, you want to know how

(08:16):
you can help me.
And it sits up real tall,bright-eyed and says absolutely.
And then I give it its scriptor I tell it and share it.
I make it feel important in mylife because it is how I use my
energy is of ultimate importanceto me, and these thoughts,

(08:38):
these notions, this gremlin,this negative energy well, it's
just that energy.
So we, my friends, canrepurpose our energy and allow
more energy and support forourselves and less energy trying

(09:00):
to get rid of the negativethoughts.
If this insight resonated, takea moment today to tune into your
inner voice.
What message is it repeatingand how might you thank it and
then choose to rewrite thescript?
I'll be back soon with anotherCoaching Insight.

(09:21):
Until then, stay curious andstay open to what's possible.
Thanks so much for listening.
Take care.