Wholeness Healing Center

Flip the Script, A Simple Self-Talk Reset

By Jacqui Schlund, Assistant Director

The other day something unexpected landed on my plate and I caught myself thinking: “I have too much to do and I don’t have any energy for this!”

I paused for a moment and changed the script to something I’ve been practicing: “I can do hard things.”

I shared this with everyone recently and thought I’d share a little more about the “flip the script” hack and the neuroscience behind it. A few things we know about self-talk and the brain:

• Your brain listens to your internal dialogue almost the same way it listens to other people.
• Repeated thoughts strengthen neural pathways over time.
• Negative self-talk keeps the brain in stress mode.
• Supportive self-talk helps shift the brain into problem-solving mode.• Small language shifts can help move the brain from threat -> challenge mode.

How to practice:
Start noticing the moments when your brain might be getting hooked by a thought. Common clues are when you do the following:
• Feel frustrated, overwhelmed, or drained
• Catch yourself sighing, procrastinating, feeling hopeless or avoiding something.
• Notice tension in your body or your shoulders creeping up
• Hear your brain saying things like “This is too much,” “I can’t deal with this,” “I don’t have the energy for this”, “This sucks!”

That’s usually a sign a “sticky thought” has grabbed ahold. When that happens you can do the following:

1. Catch the sticky thought: What is your self talk right now?
2. Pause and ask: Is this thought helping me or keeping me stuck?
3. Then ask: Do I want to keep feeling this way, or try a different thought?
(No judgment if you need to sit with the feeling for a bit. Feelings deserve space too. Just notice when the thought stops helping and starts keeping you stuck.)
4. Swap in a more helpful thought.

Some Science-Backed Affirmations Your Brain Might Appreciate.
• I can do hard things.
Helps the brain shift from threat mode into challenge mode.
• I only need to take the next step.
Reduces overwhelm and helps the brain focus on manageable action.
• I’ve handled hard things before.
Reminds the brain of past evidence of capability.
• This is uncomfortable, not impossible.
Helps calm the stress response while staying realistic.
• Progress, not perfection.
Reduces perfectionism-driven stress signals.
• I can figure this out one piece at a time.
Encourages problem-solving rather than shutdown.

You might notice a moment like this sometime this week when something unexpected lands on your plate (no, not a foreshadowing). That’s usually the perfect time to catch the script your brain is running. Neuroscience shows that the thoughts we repeat strengthen pathways in the brain, so what is playing on repeat in yours?

Just a small nervous system experiment for anyone else trying to torture themselves a little less . . . like me.

Tags: Flip the script for the positive, I can do hard things, science backed affirmations