Are You Stuck in a Negative Thought Loop? Here’s How to Catch It Before It Catches You
If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, “Why do I keep ending up here?” — this one’s for you.
In this post, I’m pulling back the curtain on something that’s been showing up in my own life lately: the loops we live in. The thoughts we think on repeat. The quiet beliefs that end up running the show.
For me, it came up during my fall audit when I realized how loud the whispers had become — “The best is behind you.” “You can’t do both.” “You’ll never get back to her.” Maybe your thoughts sound a little different, but we all have those loops that quietly shape how we show up.
Together, we’re unpacking:
✨ why our brains hold onto familiar thought patterns
✨ how neural “ruts” get formed (and how to start changing them)
✨ what it looks like to catch and challenge your thoughts this week — before we move into next week’s part two, where I’ll show you how to change them
This isn’t about pretending everything’s fine or forcing positive vibes. It’s about building awareness, compassion, and agency — because what you repeat, you reinforce. And you deserve loops that lead to peace, purpose, and presence. 🖤
You know how sometimes life gets so loud that you don’t even realize what’s been running on repeat in your mind until you finally pause?
That was me recently.
I was working through my Q4 “Own Your Eight” audit — the freebie I shared with you a few weeks ago — and while I was writing, I started noticing these thoughts bubbling up that I hadn’t actually heard before. They’d just been humming quietly in the background, shaping how I felt about myself and what I was capable of.
Things like:
“The best is behind you.”
“You can’t do both.”
“You’ll never get back to her.”
And when I wrote them down, I had that moment of like — whoa.
I didn’t realize how loud these thoughts had become or how much power I was giving them.
That’s the thing about negative loops — they’re sneaky.
They slip in under the radar, dressed up as “truth,” when really, they’re just old stories trying to keep us safe.
And here’s the honest part: I didn’t try to immediately fix them. I just sat with them. I acknowledged, “Okay, this is what’s here.” I let myself feel it, without making it mean that I was failing or broken.
Because sometimes, we have to name what’s been narrating our days before we can start to rewrite the story, right?
WHAT ARE YOU REPEATING?
Maybe your thoughts sound a little different. Maybe they say things like—
“I should be farther along by now.”
“I can’t ever stick with anything.”
“I’ll never look like her again.”
Or maybe it’s something softer but just as sneaky— like, “what’s the point?” or “it’s too late for me.”
I think we all have these loops that play in the background, right? They sound like truth because we’ve heard them so many times that they start to feel familiar.And our brains — bless them — they’re not trying to sabotage us. They’re actually just trying to be efficient.
Here’s what I mean:
Every time you think a thought, your brain is walking a little trail through the grass. The first time? You barely bend a blade. But when you think it over and over again—day after day, year after year—you start to form a path. A rut. That’s your neural pathway.
And I got the clearest visual of this after the hurricanes hit Tampa last year. There’s a trail that runs behind our house. It actually used to be an old railroad system but they converted it into a trail, so it’s paved and our back fence open up to a little bit of grass before the paved part. When the storm came through, it knocked a huge tree right across it. So for weeks, no one could use the cement path. Everyone had to step off and walk across the grass to get around it. And at first, it was fine—just a few footprints here and there. But by the time they came and hauled the tree away, there was this big, worn-down path in the lawn where hundreds of feet had walked the exact same line.
That’s what happens in our minds when we repeat the same thought again and again. We literally create a well-worn path. And unless we start walking a new way—catching the thought, interrupting it, and gently choosing a different one—we’ll keep traveling the same loop, wondering why we feel stuck in the same story.
THE SHIFT: OWNING OUR AGENCY
So here’s the thing: awareness is everything. You can’t change what you don’t see, right?
That was the power of my Q4 audit. I realized how many of my own thoughts had quietly slipped into those negative loops. They weren’t dramatic or loud — they were subtle, almost disguised as “truth.” And when I wrote them down, I could actually see them for what they were: not facts, just feelings. And let me just pause and say that both can exist. You can feel the grief of what’s changed or the feelings of how something feels AND still choose to believe that something beautiful is being rebuilt right now. That your feelings aren’t facts.
That’s what agency looks like. Not pretending we’re fine. Not bypassing what’s hard. But noticing what story we’ve been telling ourselves — and choosing to write a new one.
Because when we keep repeating the same thought, it becomes our reality. But when we start retraining our mind — walking that new path through the grass, one step at a time — that’s when everything starts to shift.
And listen, I get it.
You might be in a season where it feels like the fog hasn’t lifted yet, or like your motivation packed up and left town. But the good news? You’re still the one holding the pen. You get to decide what thoughts get to take up space in your head and what gets evicted.
And sometimes, it really does start as small as one new thought — one new loop.
Maybe for you, the thought sounds like:
💭 “I’m never going to get back to who I was.”
But what if you caught that thought and gently challenged it? What if you replaced it with something like—
✨ “Maybe I’m not supposed to go back. Maybe I’m being invited to grow into my next level.”
Maybe for you, the thought sounds like:
💭 “I should be further along by now.”
But what if you caught that thought and gently challenged it? What if you replaced it with something like—
✨ “I’m exactly where I’m meant to be. My timeline doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s.”
This is the work: catch it, challenge it, and slowly change it. Not forcing it. Not shaming yourself for it. Just noticing when that old voice shows up and deciding it doesn’t get to run the show anymore.
So that’s your invitation this week — just notice. Catch the thought when it comes up. Pause long enough to challenge it and ask, “Is this true? Is this helpful? Is this who I want to be?”
Next week, we’re going to go deeper. I’ll walk you through how to take a limiting belief and actually turn it into a new loop — one that supports the life you’re building instead of holding you back.
Because you’re not your thoughts. You’re the one who gets to choose them.
And friend, I know this kind of awareness work can feel uncomfortable at first. It’s not as flashy as a morning routine or a new planner, right? But this — this is the heart work. The healing work. It’s how you reclaim your peace, one thought at a time.
So as you move through your week, I want you to focus on just one thing: 🧠 Catch the thought.
You don’t have to fix it, solve it, or make it pretty yet. Just notice it. Get curious about it. And remember — awareness is the first step toward freedom.
Because you can’t change what you’re unwilling to see.
If you’re ready to dig a little deeper into this — especially as we wrap up the year — I want to invite you to grab my free “Own Your Eight” Fall Audit. It’s the exact reflection exercise that helped me see these loops for what they were. Inside, you’ll walk through eight key areas of your life, notice where your energy’s been going, and start to realign with what actually matters to you in this season.
You can download it right now — it’s linked in the show notes and it’s totally free. 🖤
Next week, we’re going to take this even further. I’ll walk you through how to turn a limiting belief into a new loop — one that supports the woman you’re becoming, not the one you’ve outgrown. So don’t miss it.
Until then, take a breath, catch the thought, and remember: Your thoughts don’t have to take up space in your mind rent free. You CAN choose a more empowering soundtrack. I’m right here doing this work alongside you and I can’t wait to see you next week on The Self Care Sisterhood Podcast. 🤍
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