By Rebecca McCann
I have always been a very anxious person for as long as I can remember. Always wondering if I looked okay, If people thought I was weird and all the other million questions one can ask about themselves. I would get trapped in my headspace most of the time, constantly worrying about things I have no control over. And that is exactly it, I had no control.
Changing your mindset is NEVER easy. You have to not only want it but put in the work for it. I began to reframe my mindset freshman year of college, four years ago. I would always assume the worst and worry about things that would always turn out fine.Â
To begin my journey, I found that surrounding myself with people that had a positive outlook on things helped, as well as the “who cares” mentality. Once I started to catch on, my headspace began to clear so much. I would ask myself: Why am I worrying about this so much? Will this matter at the end of the week? If there was not a good enough answer I would recognize the thoughts and drop them. It is important to remember that every thought and emotion is completely valid, and you should always allow yourself time to sit with certain thoughts. However, you must only allow it a certain amount of time.Â
It may be cheesy but metaphors play a huge role in my life. My favorites are, “everything happens for a reason,” “it is what it is,” and “what’s meant to be will be.” Reminding myself of these really helped when reframing my mindset. It allows me to find comfort in knowing that at the moment things might be tough but everything will be okay in the end. I also realized that I shouldn’t care what someone else has to say or think about me. If their opinions are not literally affecting me, why should I let them into my headspace?
The way you talk to yourself also plays a large factor in reframing your mindset. Being positive and nice to yourself is key. Saying things like “I can” or “I will” will have such an impact on certain situations. You probably would not talk to someone else the way you talk to yourself sometimes so be cautious of that.
Lastly, when reframing my mindset, I focused on breathing. When things begin to feel heavy or my mind is going 100 miles a minute, I take a moment to take a deep breath in and slowly let it out. This helps that heaviness to feel a little bit lighter.Â
Reframing your negative mindset is not a sprint by any means. It is tough and there will be setbacks. But now, senior me handles situations in a completely different way. There are recent situations where I know four years ago would have sent me overthinking for days on end, but now I give it the space it needs and let it go. So remember, surround yourself with the right people, find sayings that you find comfort in, breathe and talk to yourself nicely.Â