How to reality-check unhelpful thoughts

You may not be able to turn off your brain when it questions your abilities, downplays your progress, or tries to convince you to give up on your journey, especially after a setback. But you can respond with hard facts to change the conversation.

1. Recognise unhelpful thoughts

Could your self-talk impact your actions in a way that moves you further from your goals?

“I ruined my tracking streak—I can’t stick to anything. Why bother trying?”

2. Reality-check yourself

• Are there facts to back up the thought?
  
  “Does missing one day really mean all the other days were a waste? Or that I actually can’t stick to anything?”
  
  

• What would I say to a friend who thought this?
  
  “If someone in my Workshop shared this, I’d encourage them to see the bigger picture and keep going.”

3. Respond with a new thought

Acknowledge the reality of what happened and a more helpful thought or what action you can take next.

“Losing my streak is a bummer, but tracking has kept me aware of my eating; missing one day doesn’t change that. I can go back and track now… and start a new streak.”

Let’s dive a little deeper…

As humans, it’s normal to just accept whatever our brains tell us—especially because so many of our thoughts are automatic. Sometimes it works in our favour: For example, telling yourself a nighttime noise is the wind (often true) helps you relax so you can go back to sleep.

But because thoughts drive actions, when our brain tells us things that are both unhelpful and factually incorrect (e.g. “I totally blew it!” “I can’t do this!”) accepting them as truth can make your journey harder or cause you to abandon it altogether. So step one is noticing when they pop up, then fact checking them before they impact what you do (or don’t).

We’re not suggesting you ignore the realities of a setback or challenge. Rather it’s about acknowledging all the realities: Yes, you made a mistake or are experiencing difficulties, and you can also learn from it and find a way to keep moving toward your goals.