Who would you be without the thought: I can’t sleep. The first step is to question it and ask yourself is it absolutely, 100 per cent, without a doubt – true? And well, you do sleep on many other occasions, so I would say it is not true.
And then, ask yourself, who would you be without the thought: I can’t sleep. You would feel happier and less stressed or agitated. And notice how calmer your body would feel and look.
The next thing to do is turn the thought around and give examples of why the opposite is true. The thought: I can’t sleep becomes I can sleep and I can think of three examples of sleeping soundly recently and having a lovely night of sleep. I am a good sleeper and I think of three things that make you a good sleeper, such as my routine, not having coffee after 1pm and relaxing before I sleep. My final turnaround is: I always get to sleep and I then think of three examples of waking up refreshed and happy.
Our thoughts only go away after we question them and let our mind know who is boss and how we want to really think about things! I did a sleep thought as an example because I write for my sleeping blog, however, thoughts about everything and anything can be challenged. This idea of challenging thoughts I adopted from the amazing Byron Katie. Her website and you-tube clips on how to challenge thoughts are invaluable. There are worksheets available from Katie’s website to help you with troubling thoughts. Best of luck.
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