One of the most critical mindset shifts you can make in your life is to eliminate negative self-talk. Although everyone seems to understand the importance of this shift, most people still struggle with it.

Negative, destructive self-talk disrupts your productivity and life goals. You have countless negative conversations happening inside your head throughout your day, and these negative statements can leave you feeling frustrated, angry, defeated, or depressed.

It is normal to want to solve all of your problems, but self-criticism doesn’t help.

If you catch yourself engaging in this type of negative self-talk, you can learn how to quickly switch gears and redirect your thoughts to more positive ones.

This process can take practice, but you will notice a positive difference in your thoughts and mindset if you try a little each day.

So what can you do starting today to help halt negative self-talk? These tips will help:

1. Take a deep breath. People resort to beating themselves up because they feel overwhelmed, have too much to do, or don’t know how to change their thoughts. If this is you, take a deep breath.

It helps you momentarily slow down your thought process and realize that you are not in a position to change everything. Instead of thinking about how you can change your circumstances, try to focus on the things you can control at this moment.

2. Acknowledge your thoughts. Regardless of your negative self-talk stage, it’s important to acknowledge it. It’s very natural (and healthy) to have negative thoughts. Try not to ignore them. Instead, take them as a signal from your mind that change is needed.

For example, if you’re feeling defeated, allow yourself to take a moment to give in to those feelings and realize that it’s normal to feel disappointed in yourself and your abilities. Once you have admitted your feelings, you can refocus on what matters in your life.

3. Identify the cause. Take a minute to think about what’s behind your negative thoughts.

Are your complaints and negative self-talk rooted in your inability to practice your strengths, talents, and abilities?

For example, if you have fantastic communication skills but keep letting your negative self-talk overshadow that fact, it’s time you learned to harness your talents.

There’s a good chance you’ll realize that your fears and negative feelings were all in your head.

4. Create a routine. Building a pattern enables you to take less time, thoughts, and energy in negativity. Working through your negative self-talk is the best way to get past your toxic feelings.

And you’ll have an easier time working through them if you wake up to a planned day, with not much to think about with regards to how you’re going to start your day. After all, negative self-talk overwhelms you with unnecessary stress.

If you rise at the same time, have the same breakfast, and exercise at the same time daily, you don’t have much to overthink and get yourself worked up.

5. Consciously work to silence your thoughts. Your mind can power through negative thoughts by itself, but your mind doesn’t want to. You have to give it a helping hand. When you notice you’re about to indulge in negative self-talk, snap out of it.

Make a conscious effort to let the thoughts pass without acting on them. The more you practice this, the better you’ll get at controlling your negative thinking.

Your mindset is the driving force behind all of your actions, so it’s imperative to learn how to shift your thoughts when negative self-talk begins. You have the power to change your life by changing the way you think about yourself!