016 - 9 Negative Thoughts That Are Destroying Your Mental Game...And How to Crush Them

Do you ever feel like one mistake defines your entire performance? Do you catch yourself overthinking and expecting the worst? Does the pressure to be perfect hold you back? Do you assume others are talking about you and judging you negatively? Find yourself saying "always" and "never" even if it's not true?You're not alone. The human brain defaults to negative thinking - and it's so common this phenomenon has a name: Automatic Negative Thoughts, or ANTs. Left unchecked, these ANTs can infest your mind, derail your performance and steal your enjoyment.In this episode, we cover:The differences between thoughts, feelings, emotions and moodsA breakdown of the 9 ANTs that you are likely dealing with every dayA simple 3-step strategy to stomp out these ANTs 00:00 Glory Days & Missing the Opportunity of a Lifetime01:34 The Human Brain Defaults to Negative Thinking02:29 An Intro to ANTs04:01 Revisiting Thoughts, Emotions, Feelings & Moods04:30 Thoughts (and Dark Thoughts)06:58 Emotions08:22 Feelings11:13 Moods13:40 Recognizing the ANT Infestation14:12 ANT 1: Always & Never Thinking15:36 ANT 2: Focusing on the Negative/Discounting the Positive17:29 ANT 3: Catastrophizing & Worst Case Scenarios19:25 ANT 4: Mind Reading & the Spotlight Effect21:11 ANT 5: Thinking with your Feelings22:30 ANT 6: Guilt Beatings, Shaming & Perfectionism24:08 ANT 7: Labeling25:03 ANT 8: Personalization26:35 ANT 9: Blame28:31 Three Steps to Fight the ANTs: Awareness, Challenging, Replacing32:14 Wrap-Up & Gratitude