How healthy is your mental state...
- Halle Simpson
- Jun 10
- 3 min read
If you were to write out all the thoughts you think in an hour or in a day, I wonder what you would witness?
Our thoughts are on autopilot in our brain, and we don't often pause to observe them.
But Halle, why would I do that?
Well, because with each rehearsal, these thoughts are cultivating your outlook on your circumstances.
I was in a coaching session with a client and heard inklings of negative self-talk…as is common to hear.
I asked him to list out some of the sentences he was rehearsing in his brain. Once he stood back and had a chance to observe them, I asked, “If your friends or mentors were saying these things to you, how helpful would those words feel in an effort to solve the problem at hand?”
The answer: "Not very."
Not surprising.
We talked about people who believed in him and what they would be more likely to say in this situation to encourage him. He easily came up with a great list that was remarkably more positive.
When I asked which list of comments would feel more helpful and supportive to him, he had a clear answer—the second.
A powerful role you can play in your own life is noticing your inner thoughts. How healthy, positive, or supportive are they?
Seriously, give them a rating on a scale of 1 (terrible) to 10 (incredibly helpful).
The reason journaling and affirmations are so revered is because they are tools to improve your inner self-talk. Which is like fertilizer for the soil of your brain—making a richer environment for beautiful things to grow.
Journaling and affirmations give you space to consciously improve the quality of thinking that's rehearsed in your mind. It looks like this:
Write the more positive thoughts you'd like to implant in your mind (you can start with encouraging words you've heard from others).
Repeatedly say them out loud (while driving is a good time) or write them (in a journal).
The first 2-3 months you do this, it will feel uncomfortable and weird…but that's because it's new, not because it's actually weird.
After a while, you’ll begin to catch yourself in a negative thought pattern, which is prime to recall these positive thoughts.
When you believe the new thought, it shifts your perspective.
Do this over and over, and the helpful thought takes root.
Try it. I double dog dare you.
And if the idea of you and a blank piece of paper sounds daunting, I have a journal that could help. The Know Thyself Journal comes in both digital and physical copies, so you can choose your easiest pohttps://www.instagram.com/coach.hallesimpson/int of entry.
I hope you cultivate both a positive mental state and a beautiful garden this summer (if you're into that)!
Halle
PS:
1. For daily support and tidbits follow me over on Insta!
2. Time for a new journal? Pick up a new copy of my Know Thyself Journal for daily support towards your most important intentions for the next 90 days.
3. Are you into individual assessments? Here is a link to take a free Core Values Assessment (CVI). It only takes 10 minutes and measures your innate, unchanging nature. Take it yourself and feel free to forward to a friend, too.
