What we say to ourselves matters.  

This is particularly true for those working to create a more sustainable world.  The climate crisis is a large and complex issue to address.  It can be easy to fall into a pattern of anxiety or sadness about the future.

It’s been demonstrated that humans think over 6,000 thoughts per day (Tseng & Poppenk, 2020), and most of these thoughts are repetitive.  Each time we have a thought, a neural pathway in our brain becomes strengthened.  If you find yourself getting down or anxious about the future, don’t be too hard on yourself.  As humans we demonstrate a negativity basis in that we are more likely to attend to negative stimuli (Ito et al., 1998).  It can be easy to fall into a pattern of negative thinking.

 

In the field of behavior analysis, thoughts are referred to as “private events” or “covert stimuli”.  B. F. Skinner, the unofficial grandfather of behaviorism, wrote many papers on private events and verbal behavior.  Skinner (1945) emphasized that “each speaker possesses a small but important world of stimuli” (p.272-273), and he laid the groundwork for a scientific analysis of verbal behavior. 

 

One technique to shift your thoughts is to build a repertoire of positive self-talk statements.  This can be done by selecting a few phrases that are in line with your values and giving yourself the opportunity to repeat them.

 

Some examples of positive self-talk phrases related to sustainability are:

-       What I do everyday matters

-       I make conscious choices

-       Taking care of the earth fills me with joy

-       I’m a positive influence for others

-       I respect the environment through my actions

-       I notice others who are healing the world

-       I’m proud of my choices

-       The future depends on my decisions today

-       I surround myself with positive influences

-       I choose to be part of the solution

-       I am doing enough

 

Once you pick a few statements that resonate with you, develop a plan for how to remind yourself to repeat them.  One way to accomplish this is through the use of prompts.  Prompts are a commonly used tool within behavior analysis.  Identify rituals in your day that can serve as a prompt to repeat positive self-talk statements.

 

For example, every time I feel water, I use it an opportunity for positive self-talk.  This means anytime I feel the sensation of water (e.g., washing my hands, doing the dishes, taking a shower), I repeat a few positive self-talk statements.  I selected water because it creates numerous opportunities to strengthen statements that are in line with my values.  The great thing about prompts is that they can be personalized to what works best for you.  Your prompt could be a time of day, an activity, a person you see, or even a meaningful symbol like your favorite number.

 

Give it a try! Select a few phrases and identify a salient prompt that reminds you to say them.  Give yourself a few weeks to get into a rhythm and before you know it, you will be repeating these phrases without any effort.  It’s an invigorating feeling once you notice your thoughts shifting.  Be patient with yourself and allow some time for these patterns to emerge.  

 

Your brain is an organ just like all other body parts. Your heart beats and your mind thinks.  Why not feed your mind statements to create patterns that better serve you and the planet?

 Meghan Martineau, Ph.D., BCBA-D

 

References

Ito T. A., Larsen J.T., Smith N.K., Cacioppo J.T. (1998). Negative information weighs more heavily on the brain: The negativity bias in evaluative categorizations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,75:887–900. 

Skinner, B. F. (1945). The operational analysis of psychological terms. Psychological Review, 52, 270-277/291- 294.

Tseng, J., Poppenk, J. (2020).  Brain meta-state transitions demarcate thoughts across task contexts exposing the mental noise of trait neuroticism. Nature Communications 11, 3480.