FEEL LIKE YOU FAILED?

SIMPLY SAY THE WORD ‘SWITCH’

A volunteer committee you chaired is temporarily being disbanded because of budget cuts. Though, intellectually, you know the circumstances are out of your control, emotionally, you feel like it’s somehow your fault and you can’t stop thinking about what you might have done differently to ensure the committee’s success. In short, you feel like you let down your team.

Shifting away from a distorted, unhelpful thought is as easy as saying, “switch,” according to Marie Banich, Ph.D., professor of psychology and neuroscience at Colorado University in Boulder, whose groundbreaking research suggests that one of the best ways to purge your mind of a negative script is to deliberately start thinking about something completely different. For example, the next time you catch yourself thinking about the committee being disbanded, tell yourself “switch” and start gazing at a houseplant. “It’s like shining a light on the item you’re trying to erase, so that your brain will know what to forget, opening a slot for new information,” says Banich. Flipping this “switch” lets you regain control over your thoughts, so that you can pursue your goals with confidence.