One bad day does not a bad week make…

Have you ever been trying to watch what you eat and then accidentally eaten a doughnut and you’re brain is all “right that’s it, we’ve ruined it, might as well eat all the doughnuts now”?

Those are self-sabotaging thoughts and there a pattern of thinking called black and white thinking and/or catastrophising.

The same can apply in your business, you’ve turned over a new leaf, you’re going to log your expenses in a spreadsheet every day, without fail, it’ll make things easier, make your year end go more smoothly. Then you miss a day, then two – suddenly you’ve missed a week and there’s a pile of expense receipts and it’s overwhelming and you’ve already made a mess so you need to find a different system, a better system (and no, shoving them in a bin bag for your poor accountant is not a system).

When I talk about black and white thinking – it’s this all or nothing approach, I’ve missed a week so this doesn’t work. I’ve eaten one doughnut so I’ve failed. It’s a really easy thought pattern to fall into and one I have personally had to work hard to cut out (mostly, I still have days when I give in).

Catastrophising is very similar, when something goes wrong we immediately jump the worst possible conclusion – my car’s broken down which will make me late and I’m going to get fired or forgetting to enter those expenses means I’ve ruined my accounts for the year and I’ll get a fine from the tax man. I’m also guilty of this at times!

Do either of those sound familiar to you? If they do, then I’m pretty sure you’ve abandoned projects or ways of walking just because your brain has talked you out of them. I’m here to talk you back into them – have you ever started something and felt like you’ve failed at it? Go back, look at the situation, did you fail or was it a temporary setback or an unusual circumstance?

I’m also here to remind you that your brain has a lot of power over you, but you can control it with effort and awareness. So take a few moments today to recognise your thought patterns and responses…are there any that can be improved?