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Awareness is the First Step Toward Change by Sheri Olson Zampelli The first step in breaking your cycle of self-sabotage is to recognize the beliefs, attitudes and feelings that stand in your way. Once you know what they are, you are in a position to change them. One of the ways to become aware of self-talk that might be standing in your way is to use sentence completion. On a separate piece of paper, complete the following sentences: 1) "At the thought of becoming more successful..., 2) The reason I can't have what I want is..., 3) If I become successful..., 4) If I achieve my goal..., 5) The reason I can't achieve my goal..." Write down the first responses that come into your mind. Don't write what you think you should write. Be honest. Once you have completed the sentences, you can ask yourself, "Which of these beliefs do I want to keep and which do I want to discard?" Make two lists, one discard list and one list of beliefs you want to keep. In upcoming articles I will show you how to replace your negative self-talk with positive self-talk. Keep your list for future reference. As you look at your discard list, make a note of where you got the beliefs from. For example, complete the following sentence: "The reason I believe this is..." You may find that the beliefs you are holding on to have been around a long time, come from a questionable source and are inaccurate. Just because you have been holding on to these beliefs for a long time, doesn't mean you have to continue doing so. Another way to heighten your level of awareness is to use journaling. Try spending 10-15 minutes each day writing in a journal. Don't worry about the topic or grammar, just let your thoughts flow. If you are trying to achieve a particular goal and finding it difficult to do so, carry your journal with you and write about your thoughts and feelings before and after you attempt to achieve your goal. Use the information as a clue to what might be standing in your way and use it to shape your future goal setting.
For more articles about overcoming self-sabotage
For articles including interviews with Sheri Olson Zampelli |
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