For most of my life, I believed I was a victim of my thoughts. Whatever popped into my mind, especially the negative thoughts, felt like they had complete control over me.

That changed when I heard someone suggest swapping just one word: replacing “should” with “could.”

It sounds simple, but it completely shifted the way I looked at my life. Instead of I should go to the gym (which feels like a burden), I started saying I could go to the gym (which feels like a choice). The same went for food, work, and even how I spoke to myself. Suddenly, I wasn’t being pushed around by guilt or pressure; I was reminding myself of my options.

This tiny change sparked a bigger realization: I have control over how I frame every thought.

In the past, whenever a negative thought crept in, my instinct was to fight it off and immediately replace it with something positive. But that didn’t always work; it felt like I was just sweeping the thought under the rug.

Now, I try something different. Instead of running from the negativity, I sit with it. I look at the thought, acknowledge it, and then reframe it. What else could be true? What’s another way to see this?

That’s where the magic happens. Reframing doesn’t deny the thought – it transforms it!