Overcoming Our Own Negative Beliefs

Photo By Klara Pospisilova

All of us at one point in time have questioned our own abilities and self-worth which can become more confusing by believing negative things about who we are. In the last post (click here to read), it was discussed how pervasive this type of thinking can be. But how do we overcome this way of thinking?

Those negative thoughts we believe about ourselves are best defined by the word “Shame”. Shame is often confused with guilt which is understandable because they form similar emotional and physical feelings. The distinction comes when it’s understood from a psychological perspective. Guilt occurs when we do something wrong and feel badly about it. Guilty feelings help change our future behaviors. Shame on the other hand, is feeling bad about who we are.

Guilt allows us to examine ourselves so we don’t make the same mistakes again. Shame tells us that our actions were caused because we are a bad person. It drives home negative ideas about who we are and reinforces the notion that we are bad and cannot change that behavior.

It is a bit more complex and  a difficult subject to tackle in one post; that is why I wrote an entire book on the subject and how I was able to overcome it. We will delve into overcoming shame in future posts but in the meantime, feel free to read more about my book at: http://www.gcegroup.net.

Thank you and I look forward to your thoughts.