✨ What Are Limiting Beliefs? Limiting beliefs are the negative thoughts or assumptions we hold about ourselves, others, or the world that keep us from reaching our full potential. Empowering beliefs, on the other hand, are the uplifting truths we choose to live by that help us grow and thrive. *Just a point: shifting from limiting beliefs to empowering beliefs is NOT about rejecting reality or truth or about lying to oneself. The work is done in truly analyzing the beliefs for their truthfulness. Not everything we believe is true and part of this is being open to identifying HOW the belief came to be (and seeing if there's a leap in logic that took place), identifying what it does for us to maintain it, and recognizing how shifting it would be helpful and more aligned with truth. **Our ability to grow is correlated with our ability to face truths about ourselves and the world and to face the discomfort that can come along with that.** 📌 Common Limiting Beliefs (and Their Empowering Alternatives) - ❌ "I am not smart enough to succeed"✅ "I can learn, grow, and improve my skills" "It's possible that there are things in which I may not succeed but that doesn't mean that I'm not smart enough" - ❌ "People will reject me if I show my true self"✅ "The right people will appreciate me for who I really am" "There may be times when I am rejected. What are they trying to tell me about themselves? Is there something that I can learn about myself in the process? - ❌ "It is too late for me to change"✅ "It is never too late to start fresh or take a new path" One of my favorite things to think is "It's not over until it's over" - ❌ "If I fail once, I will always be a failure"✅ "Every failure is feedback and a stepping stone to success" - ❌ "I am not creative enough to try new things"✅ "Creativity grows when I give myself permission to explore" - ❌ "Money is evil, so I should not pursue wealth"✅ "Money is a tool that can be used for good, growth, and freedom" "My approach to money matters--it can be easy to be influenced by money, how will I engage with it" - ❌ "I am too young or too old to make a difference"✅ "The best time to start is now, no matter my age" - ❌ "Good opportunities never come my way"✅ "I can create or invite opportunities by showing up and taking action" - ❌ "Love always ends in heartbreak"✅ "Healthy love exists, and I can build it with the right person" (to love is to be vulnerable and risk pain....ultimately, we do die, so there can still be heartbreak but that doesn't mean that I can't have it while I'm here) - ❌ "Other people are more talented or lucky than me"✅ "I have unique strengths and gifts that make me valuable" "Other people may have talents in different areas and that's okay." - ❌ "I cannot change because this is just who I am"✅ "I am capable of growth and can rewrite my own story" (***This is perhaps one of my least favorites--"This is just who I am"....is it though? Is it just who you are? Maybe things have become ingrained over time and it "feels" like this, but is that the real identity? What's underneath it?)

To continue on the theme of yesterday's topic of "Limiting beliefs", today I'd like to take some time to focus on Unproductive Thinking Patterns. In the CBT world, these are known as Cognitive Distortions. In Philosophy, they may be considered errors in logic (though we can certainly justify them). Down the line, we'll take some time to focus on each one indpendently. :) 🧠 Cognitive Distortions: patterns of thinking that twist reality and make situations seem worse, more hopeless, or more dangerous than they actually are. They affect emotions, decisions, and relationships, often without us realizing it. Common cognitive distortions: - ❗ Exaggerated negativity: Seeing situations as far worse than they are - 😔 Blaming: Blaming yourself or others excessively for mistakes - 🔮 Fortune-telling: Assuming you know the future and expecting the worst (this and catastrophizing are similar) - ⚖️ All-or-nothing thinking: Seeing things in black and white with no middle ground (think about the times you've used the words "everyone, always, never," - 🌀 Overgeneralization: Taking one event and applying it to all situations - 😰 Emotional reasoning: Believing something is true just because you feel it--this is very common! - 👓 Filtering: Focusing only on negative aspects and ignoring positives (the same can occur in the opposite direction too--we just call it denial then) - 🏷️ Labeling: Assigning global negative labels to yourself or others - ❌ Should statements: Thinking you or others must behave a certain way to be acceptable (there are some "shoulds" that are helpful, however, our brain has the tendency to process "should" in a similar way whether the should is something heavy or not. - 🔄 Personalization: Taking responsibility for events outside your control; internalizing labels that others give us; - 🏔️ Catastrophizing: Expecting the worst-case scenario in every situation - 🤷 Minimization: Downplaying your successes or strengths - 🧩 Magnification: Overemphasizing mistakes or flaws in yourself or others

Ever been in a conversation/debate with someone and feel like somehow the conversation was derailed or not fruitful? It's possible that either one or two of the individuals engaged in some sort of logical fallacy (mistakes in reasoning) and the conversation went off tracks as a result. There is overlap between cogntiive distortions which were discussed earlier and logical fallacies. Below are some of the common logical fallacies, however, there are many more. I'll add a video with an extended list! ✨ Common Logical Fallacies to Watch Out For: - 🎯 Straw Man: Misrepresenting someone’s argument to make it easier to attack. Example: “Oh, so you think we should have no rules at all?” when someone only suggested fewer rules. - 👥 Ad Hominem: Attacking the person instead of the argument.Example: “You can’t trust his opinion on health, he eats junk food all the time.” Just because someone may engage in hypocritical behavior, does'nt mean that he doesn't have a point. - ⚖️ False Dilemma: Presenting only two options when more exist.Example: “You are either with me or against me.” - 🔄 Circular Reasoning: The argument just restates itself instead of proving anything.Example: “I’m right because I said so.” - 📊 Hasty Generalization: Drawing a big conclusion from too little evidence.Example: “I met one rude person from that city, so everyone there must be rude.” - 🧲 Appeal to Emotion: Using feelings instead of logic to persuade.Example: “You must agree with me, otherwise you’re a bad person.” 💡 Why this matters:Learning to spot fallacies helps us think more clearly, argue more effectively, and avoid being misled by others. It also makes discussions healthier and more respectful. 👉 Question to ponder: Which of these fallacies do you notice most often in daily conversations or online debates? Do you see these happening in media(news, politics)? https://youtu.be/pCg-SNOteQQ?feature=shared

This post is a repeat from my early days here, but I needed the ease and the push to get going aaaaand most of you guys haven't seen it, so here you go! :) Productivity is the measure of how effectively we use our time, energy, and resources to achieve desired outcomes. It’s not just about doing more,it’s about doing what matters most with efficiency and balance. It's also about cutting off energy leaks.. (though.....we tend to think that it IS about doing more and often feel "not good enough" when we are not). I would like to get A LOT of stuff done over this weekened but iI have some mental energy leaks getting in the way. Types of Productivity - Economic / Workplace Productivity - Personal Productivity - Employee Productivity - Creative Productivity - Knowledge Productivity - Social Productivity Productivity Insights from Research (and it's not just about discipline) - 🧠Studies show that short, focused work interval (like the 25-minute Pomodoro Technique) boost task completion, sustain focus, and help prevent burnout. This method aligns with our brain’s attention rhythms and even leverages motivation through “small wins”. Yay dopamine!!!! - 🕑Timing breaks strategically matter: taking breaks every ~90 minutes or using patterns like the “75/33” work-rest cycle helps maintain peak performance and combat screen fatigue. BUT, play around with thi - Consider micro-breaks of under 10 minutes (a quick stretch, walk, or just stepping away) can uplift energy levels by around 60% and improve overall well-being. I agree with this BUT at the same time someitmes a work flow interruption really ends up being just that and it can be hard to return. Make this break something that won't completely distract you from your flow. - ******The problem often isn’t discipline----->it’s cognitive overload. Modern productivity tools and multitasking demands can exhaust our brains, making rest and intentionality the smartest productivity strategy... It's not about pushing harder, it's about working smarter.

Our brains are not neutral...ever wonder why one negative comment can derail your whole day while getting positive feedback barely does anything? Why it can be difficult to try new things? Why losing $20 feels worse than winning $20? Why breaking a stream feels more painful than maintaining it feels joyful? This is the brain running on 2 psychological pathways that happen automatically: The negativity bias and loss aversion. Negativity bias means your brain gives negative stimuli preferential treatment. The amygdala fires more rapidly and intensely when it detects anything potentially threatening or painful. Positive events register, but they simply do not activate the same level of neural intensity. So negative experiences feel more intense. Then, loss aversion doubles down. From a cognitive standpoint, losses are viewed as more significant than gains. The psychological “cost” of losing tends to outweigh the psychological “benefit” of gaining, even when the events are equal in size. Your brain would rather avoid the pain of losing than pursue the pleasure of winning. This means negative experiences have more gravitational pull in your mind. Let's translate this to relationships. The Gottman's (gurus on relationships who have tons of research on this) give us the example: In close relationships, you need roughly five positive interactions for every one negative to maintain stability. This ratio is not arbitrary. It counterbalances the heavier cognitive and emotional weight that negative interactions carry. A single critical comment activates both biases, so the positives must come in higher volume to keep the system regulated. 5:1!! That's some weight! But, having a ratio like this, tells us that we CAND do something about it: these biases may be automatic, BUT we can work with counteracting them a bit. We can strengthen prefrontal cortex regulation through intentional activities such as savoring, recognition of micro-moments of connection, naming strengths, repair attempts, and cognitive reframing. Basically being on the lookout for the good.