Hurrah! Hurrah!
In 2014, we moved from Texas to Colorado, and I have to say, I love living where fire ants do not exist. But those are not the ants I am talking about. I am talking about ANTs – Automatic Negative Thoughts. Dr. Daniel Amen has tips on getting rid of ANTs. Side note: if you haven’t heard of Dr. Amen, he’s done ground-breaking research on the brain. Particularly in the areas of Alzheimer’s and ADD/ADHD.
But back to the ANTs. These little suckers are thoughts we often get caught up in that are self-limiting and harmful to our self-worth and value. They can make you miss opportunities or make your journey harder. My ANTs came marching battle charging like a scene from Braveheart in the middle of the night on Saturday. Which means I got very little sleep. So when our youngest came in our room at 5:30am because he’d peed himself and the bed, my husband dried the flood waters and then very sweetly snuggled up with me on the couch with some tea.
And then he proceeded to help me squash the ANTs.
This time around my ANTs were all the doubt and fear that can come with being an entrepreneur. The thoughts that say you have really good stuff to offer, but no one is going to want one-on-one coaching, clean eating programs or essential oils. And that is not true. So in the wee morning hours, my husband lovingly supported me, reminded me that I do what I do because I love helping people and seeing them thrive, and helped me rephrase my ANTs so that they would have to go away.
So now it’s your turn. What are your ANTs? If your best friend came to you with the ANT that she is a terrible mom because she lost her cool with her kids, would you say, “Yes you are. You really need to get a grip on this mothering thing.” NO!!! Absolutely not. You would tell her what an amazing mom she is, tell her the parts of her mothering that inspire you and then schedule a time to grab a glass of wine.
So, what if you do the same for yourself when your ANTs come marching? ANTs get us all. Health coaches included, but I can help you with those ANTs. Just spending time with me each Tuesday is doing something to nourish yourself. Keep it up and turn your ANTs into ACTs – Automatic Confident Thoughts!
P.S. Don’t I have a really sweet husband? I’m lucky!
P.P.S. I just made up ACTs and really hope I didn’t steal that from someone else out there. I googled it and nothing came up, so hopefully I don’t get in trouble for content stealing 🙂
