I’ve been listening to a lot of audio books lately – a side effect of my gym being closed, as I am now running every day. Who says there’s no silver lining to the pandemic closures? I am probably the best educated I’ve been in a while! I’m sure that is a great comfort to the small businesses that are still closed, but we do see a light at the end of the tunnel, as our infection numbers slowly come down and our vaccination numbers climb.

Gallows humour aside, it struck me that all of these different authors (Dr. Joe Dispenza, Rhonda Byrne, Gabrielle Bernstein, Byron Katie, Gay Hendricks, Louise Hay, Dr John Sarno, Mel Robbins, Dr Joseph Murphy) are coming at the issue from different angles, but arrive at the same conclusion in the end. Your brain is a liar, and you need to be very suspicious of your own thoughts. Chances are they aren’t true.

Most of our subconscious beliefs are set in childhood – a belief is really just a thought that we repeat over and over, until we are convinced it is true. Often these beliefs were useful at the time, and helped keep us safe when we were young and vulnerable. The problem is that we continue to carry the same beliefs with us when we are fully fledged adults, and then they are less useful. Because they are so deeply embedded, it can be hard to remove them.

For example, if you believe that you are small and helpless and always need others to help you, it’s going to limit your ability to do things for yourself. If you believe that you should keep quiet and not voice your opinion, your career will undoubtedly suffer. If you believe that you are not worthy of love and care, you might make bad relationship choices.

So how do we know when our brain is repeating outdated information to us, that is limiting our ability to achieve the kind of life we want? Here’s a hint: it makes us feel bad.

Each of the teachers I mentioned above has a different way of approaching it, but in the end, it comes down to being aware when the bad feelings come up in our bodies, and what thoughts may have triggered them. 

Whether the feeling is anger, fear, sadness, guilt or any of the other wonderful ways we beat ourselves up, if we pay attention to our triggers, we can learn to catch ourselves and head the thought off at the pass.

It’s a process, and I would recommend you Google the names above to find the one that works best for you, or else you can find a life coach or therapist to help you with it.

What do you do to quiet the liar in your head? I’d love to know!