We’ve all heard the old adage: “Don’t believe everything you hear.” But have you heard its partner? It’s, “Don’t believe everything you think.” Our thoughts are choices that we make based on our own unique set of experiences. Sometimes those experiences lead us to the wrong conclusions. Sometimes those choices we make lead us down the wrong fork in the path. To overcome limiting thoughts and make a change, we have to learn how to test our thoughts and find out which ones are actually true. And we have to be a little less quick to believe everything we think.
Learning to Test Limiting Thoughts
When I was crafting my new keynote speech on the power of thought transformation, I noticed that I was having the thought, “Who is going to want to listen to this?”
I started to wonder if my speech just…wasn’t very good.
But was that really true?
Once I noticed this repetitive, limiting thought, I started doing some research on how many professionals grapple with limiting thoughts and imposter syndrome.
70%.
Around 70% of professionals experience imposter syndrome. That’s the majority of us; caught in thought patterns of doubt and fear.
I could see how my own thoughts fit the pattern too. My thought “no one will want to listen to this” was rooted in self-doubt, not truth.
Looking at the facts forced me to reexamine and test my thoughts more carefully. Because the facts showed that the majority of professionals struggle with limiting thoughts like I did, and that my speech on thought transformation addressed a very real, prevalent challenge.
So instead of letting that thought of self-doubt continue to repeat, I flipped to a better thought based on fact: “I’m going to help people pivot out of self-limiting thought patterns.”
I practiced that thought over and over. It not only helped me feel more excited about delivering my speech, but also made the process of writing and rehearsing it much more effective.
The SCFL Framework
That’s when I began shaping a four-step framework I call The Scuffle (SCFL)—a practical way to shift out of self-limiting thoughts and into more empowering ones:
- Stop. Notice the thoughts that are coming up. You can’t change what you don’t notice.
- Check the facts. Thoughts can feel like facts, but that doesn’t make them factual.
- Flip to a better thought, so you create new neural pathways in your brain that bolster you instead of keeping you stuck in negative belief patterns.
- Lock in the new, better thought through practice. Just like when you learn any new skill, practice increases the strength of the new thought pattern.
While preparing my keynote speech, I stopped when I noticed my thoughts of self-doubt. Then I checked the facts about imposter syndrome. I flipped to a truthful thought, then practiced that thought.
Those four steps are the catalyst for changing any thought pattern.
And they work.
Once we can notice the thought patterns that are keeping us (or our teams) stuck—whether it be in poor performance, toxic relationships, ineffective communication, or maybe just low self-esteem—we can change them, and change our experience and reality.
Today I challenge you to put the SCFL framework to the test in your own life. If you feel comfortable, reply to this email and share a few of the thought patterns you’ve decided to change.
