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11 Ways To Stop Negative Thought Patterns And Move Forward

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All photos courtesy of Forbes Councils members. Members share their tips for stopping negative thought patterns.


Negative thinking is the easiest way to slow down your business and personal goals. But how do you get rid of negative thoughts? There are a number of ways to do it, and the one you choose is likely a personal decision.

We asked members of the Forbes Coaches Council for advice on how to banish negative thoughts so that their goals can be more easily met. The perspectives varied widely, but they all had one idea in common: You are in control. Our experts gave us their best tips, and this is what they had to say.

1. Speak To The Negative Thought

Practice becoming aware of when these thoughts come up. Are you tired, hungry, disappointed, stressed or something else? When we try to ignore negative thoughts, they don’t go away, they continue to pop up. To counteract them, recognize them. Let your internal voice say, “I’m recognizing a negative thought; it’s a story I’m telling myself, and it’s not true.” This squashes negativity pretty fast. – Frances McIntosh, Intentional Coaching LLC

2. Get Around Positive People

Do you want to catch a cold? Get around people with a cold. I am not sure that advice still stands, but it certainly means something to me when coaching others. I see a lot of people associating with like-minded and often negative people when they are trying to change something in their lives, like a job. Negative people are not optimistic. Get around positivity physically, through your ears and eyes. – John M. O’Connor, Career Pro Inc.

3. Don’t Expect Everything To Be Perfect

Expecting everything to be perfect can be debilitating and robs you of true happiness. Make sure your vision of success is steeped in reality. For example, if you are promoted next year — instead of this year, as expected — does one year really change anything in the long run? Striving for goals with a detachment to the end state having to be perfect can be a liberating way to live on your own terms. – Christie Lindor, The MECE Muse

4. Work With An Active Mindset

There are no substitutions for a bulletproof mindset. Finding a practice that works for you is key. When coaching different types of clientele (executives, millennials, entrepreneurs), each group works differently. The one thing I have found to be true and practical is that there is no standard practice. Your mindset practice is completely personalized and will evolve depending on what limiting beliefs you are trying to remove, as well as what positive traits are you trying to instill in your daily routine. The most important advice I can give is “stick with it.” Get into a routine, find what works, and don’t stop until you have mastered the program you choose. – Stephynie Malik, Chique Speak

5. Develop A Positive Morning Routine

Thinking starts early in the morning. When a leader controls their thinking, they control their life. Negative thinking can slow a leader down. Leaders must take every thought captive by replacing thoughts of fear with thoughts of hope and belief. One tool that many great thinking leaders use is to develop a morning routine where they read something encouraging and positive every morning. – Ken Gosnell, CEO Experience

6. Just Breathe

In order to stop negative thoughts, you need to slow everything down, and first learn to just notice them. Incorporating alarms, reminders and literal time blocks into your schedule to just breathe will bring you more ease and self-awareness. Then, when you start to notice how many negative thoughts you are having, simply breathe them away. The trick is not to judge yourself or get caught up in your negative thoughts. You will get stronger at this exercise with time, just like anything else. – Hanna Hermanson, Dream Life is Real Life

7. Become Intentional About Your Attitude

Assuming a positive attitude is an intentional action that starts as soon as you wake up in the morning. Become aware when you are focusing on the negative and make the decision to focus on the positive instead. Your attitude is a choice. You attract what you focus on, so let go of that which does not serve your goals. The more you practice positive mind-shifts, the easier it becomes. – Erin Urban, UPPSolutions, LLC

8. Try The Displacement Theory

Have you ever tried to stop thinking? Try it sometime, and see what happens. If you want to break negative thought patterns, you have to replace them with something else. No one can think about two things at the same time. So, pick something you would love to do and start working on it; let your pursuit of that dream displace the old thoughts. – Gary Harpst, Six Disciplines

9. Focus On The Promise, Not The Problem

No matter your talents or current work environment, there will always be reasons for negative thoughts if you let them exist. When you start to feel negative, just remember why you are there. Focus on where you are headed and why that is important to you.  It really is about the end goal, not the unpleasant parts of the process. – Donald Hatter, Donald Hatter Inc.

Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?

10. Tap Into The Root Problem

Most negative thinking stems from a problem that’s not visibly seen on the surface. I call it the “root problem.” These negative thought patterns are sometimes ingrained in us from early on and have become part of our programming. In order to overcome these negative thought patterns, you must identify the deeper-seeded reason why these patterns keep showing up. Then and only then will you be able to address the issue. – Kiki Ramsey, Kiki Ramsey International

11. Make A Conscious Choice

You can’t get rid of negative thought patterns unless you can surface what they are. Get to know your negative thinking and how it gets triggered. Only with that self-awareness can you begin to identify when it is happening and make a choice to shift your perspective in the moment. – Jenn Lofgren, Incito Executive & Leadership Development.

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Christian Wealth Principles

6 Biblical Money Foundations That Unlock Financial Freedom – What the Bible Really Says About Wealth

You will learn about Godly wealth principles and Christian money tips. It covers managing money, financial freedom and you will also explore Biblical investing, and blessings.

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Introduction

Is money evil? Should Christians be rich? What does the Bible really say about wealth?
Many believers struggle with finances due to mixed messages. But Scripture provides clear wisdom about money management. In this post, discover 6 Biblical money foundations that help you enjoy wealth without guilt and handle finances God’s way. This will help you in Faith and finances. You will learn about Godly wealth principles and Christian money tips. It covers managing money God’s way as well as spiritual and financial freedom. You will also explore Biblical investing, tithing, and blessings.

Watch the full video breakdown on our Faith & Fortune Finance YouTube channel [embedded below].

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1. God Owns Everything—We Are Just Stewards

Psalm 24:1 – “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”

God owns it all—your money, house, gifts, even your ideas.
You’re not the owner. You’re the steward.

Action Steps:

  • Shift from ownership to stewardship
  • Ask God how to manage what He’s entrusted to you
  • Use wealth to glorify God, not just yourself

Quote:

“When we see money as God’s, we handle it differently—with purpose, peace, and power.”


2. Diligence and Hard Work Bring Prosperity

Proverbs 10:4 – “Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.”

Financial laziness is mental, physical, and spiritual.
Avoid laziness in planning, learning, and building wealth.

Example: Oprah Winfrey built a global empire through diligence—not luck.
Biblical Application: Psalms 1:3 – “Whatever he does prospers.”

Faith + Action = Prosperity

Action Steps:

  • Show up early. Learn. Network. Execute.
  • Serve God in your work, not just in church.
  • Work is worship when done with purpose.

3. Avoid Debt and Live Within Your Means

Proverbs 22:7 – “The borrower is slave to the lender.”

Debt leads to anxiety, stress, and missed opportunities.
God’s people are called to financial freedom.

Real-World Example:
Chris Hogan teaches the power of debt-free living in Everyday Millionaires. These everyday millionaires became wealthy by saving. They also budget carefully and avoid debt.

Action Steps:

  • Budget with a plan, not emotion
  • Buy only what you can afford
  • Practice the “banana principle”: Don’t chase what’s ripe today but rotten tomorrow.

4. Tithing and Generosity Invite God’s Blessing

Malachi 3:10 – “Bring the whole tithe… see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven.”

Generosity invites God into your finances.

Real-World Example:
Bill Gates’ philanthropy helped eradicate diseases and feed nations. He gave to bless, and the blessing multiplied.

Action Steps:

  • Tithe as an act of faith
  • Give beyond money—give time, wisdom, love
  • Be a blessing to others

5. Invest and Multiply What God Gives You

Matthew 25:14–30 – Parable of the Talents

God expects you to grow what He gives you. Don’t bury your potential.

Real-World Examples:

  • Warren Buffet invests long-term with wisdom and restraint
  • Ray Dalio succeeds through planning, research, and principles

Action Steps:

  • Start small—just start
  • Learn to invest: stocks, skills, businesses
  • Multiply resources for Kingdom impact

6. Practice Contentment—Avoid the Love of Money

1 Timothy 6:10 – “The love of money is the root of all evil.”

Wealth is a tool, not a goal.

Real-World Example:
Dave Ramsey lives and teaches contentment after rebounding from financial failure. He preaches peace over pressure.

Action Steps:

  • Be content with what you have
  • Avoid comparison and consumerism
  • Focus on eternal rewards over earthly riches

🎯 How to Apply These Biblical Money Foundations Today

✅ Recognize that God owns everything
✅ Be diligent and hardworking
✅ Avoid debt and impulse purchases
✅ Tithe and give generously
✅ Invest wisely
✅ Practice contentment daily


Watch Full Teaching on YouTube

👇Watch this full video breakdown with real-life case studies and extra teaching only on Faith & Fortune Finance:


Conclusion

God’s financial principles aren’t just spiritual—they’re practical. Apply them and you’ll see peace, purpose, and prosperity flow into every area of your life.

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Finance & Business

Managing, Leading, Building Institutions And Sustainability

The two primary tasks of a top-level leader are to exploit and explore the organisation with people for now and in the future.

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Babs Olugbemi

By Babs Olugbemi

One of my concerns for leaders is their capacity to be ambidextrous. Regardless of years of experience, knowledge, and leadership capacity, the lack of a clear distinction between managing and leading on the one hand, leading and building institutions on the second layer, and ultimately focussing on sustainability is a significant threat to successful leadership change.

I have followed events and people at C-suites, coached some, and developed frameworks for leadership development. Based on the personalities and styles of the new leaders, I have confirmed my fears about leadership sustainability in most African organisations.

“Successful leaders can aptly differentiate themselves and their roles without necessarily seeing activities as performance, focussing on what is required of them with appropriate tenacity and influence.”

The challenge for leaders is how to lead for the present and future without losing sight of the stakeholders’ immediate performance expectations. Successful leaders can aptly differentiate themselves and their roles without necessarily seeing activities as performance, focussing on what is required of them with appropriate tenacity and influence.

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In my walk as a leadership coach, I have keenly observed leaders who are managing rather than leading. Managing involves ensuring that processes achieve their intended outcomes. Leaders are above managing and should focus on creating an enabling environment for innovation, inventions, and team collaboration. The primary role in leading is not to monitor process outcomes, though critical to the company’s overall objectives, but to align corporate values with the people’s aspirations to create an engaged and ownership-thinking mindset ready to take on challenges and explore opportunities. An alignment of corporate and personal goals will not only deliver the present performance expectations. Still, it will also incubate innovations to adapt to future market demands and the sustainability of the business.

Unfortunately, the capacity for ambidexterity is rare and often marked by leaders’ exposure, approach and styles, perception, and perspective of their roles in the organisation. A leader with a wrong foundation in these areas is set for failure and awaits unfavourable decisions from the board of directors. A top-level leader might manage their teams instead of leading them. Not all leaders can combine leading for the present with building institutions. However, anyone able to submit themselves to an institution-building mechanism can champion sustainability. Aside from being a leadership coach, I help leaders achieve sustainability.

Mathematically, creating an ambidextrous organisation is beyond leading. It is to lead and build an institution that focuses on sustainability in all aspects of the organisation—employee fulfilment, customer retention, strategy effectiveness, performance evaluation, stakeholder management, process improvement, and goal congruence.

In a nutshell, the role of successful leaders in ambidextrous organisations is striking a balance between exploiting current assets and capabilities to ensure short-term success and allocating enough energy and resources to exploration to ensure future viability. The two primary tasks of a top-level leader are to exploit and explore the organisation with people for now and in the future. The two seemingly contradictory aspects—exploitation and exploration—encompass different strategies and processes and have different targets and outcomes (March 1991; O’Reilly & Tushman, 2004; O’Reilly & Tushman, 2013).

O’Reilly and Tushman described the two concepts as follows:

  • Exploiting: Exploiting involves building on an organisation’s achievements and maximising returns on previous investments. It focuses on responding to current business demands to remain efficient and competitive within an established market niche, as well as on maintaining an existing customer base and stakeholder relationships. Examples of exploiting are activities focused on continuous improvement, benchmarking, and redesigning business processes.
  • Exploring: Exploring focuses on expanding an organisation’s knowledge and capabilities, pioneering new products and services, and discovering and venturing into untapped markets.

The common area of practical bottlenecks in exploiting and exploring in organisations is a need for foundational trust and cohesion among the resources, especially the human capital, which are often treated as costs rather than assets to the organisations. Among all the factors of production, only humans can be ambidextrous with the capacity to think about changes in economic parameters and adjust their behaviours to match the time, content, and contextual requirements.

While organisations might have the resources to deploy in fighting competition, technology to obtain first-mover advantages, and production capacity to maximise output from input, none is compared with the potential of an engaged workforce.

Therefore, for leaders to be successful, they must refrain from operating in the realm of managing. They should operate in the capacity of institution builders, with the mindset of creating sustainable leadership and growth with people first and other factors of production second.

Consequently, only the leaders who prioritise their people over profits, pride, and organisational arrogance will be successful in the long term.

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Finance & Business

BUSINESS: 3 Non-Financial Factors That Could Impact Your Business’ Value-JESSICA FIALKOVICH

we also look at factors like the level of owner involvement, company goals and growth opportunities.

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Jessica Fialkovich, an entrepreneur leadership network contributor, has listed three important non-financial factors that could impact business value.

In a business publication on Entrepreneur, Fialkovich revealed that, to come up with the true value of a company or business, “we also look at factors like the level of owner involvement, company goals and growth opportunities.”

She explained that, “Determining a business’ value is not all about adding up revenue and subtracting expenses. While an important piece, these hard numbers are only half the equation for computing what a company is worth. To come up with the true value, we also look at factors like the level of owner involvement, company goals and growth opportunities. When we use the complete equation, we get a comprehensive picture of a business and can better understand the story of its past, present and future.”

“Calculations may vary depending on the company, but in a healthy one, there is about a 50/50 split between the quantitative (financial) and qualitative (non-financial) sides of performance. If the business isn’t profitable, it’s more important to focus on the quantitative side and fix the numbers first. Many owners don’t want to hear that, but if they’re not hitting their numbers, it may mean the business is not working. They must fix the quantitative issues before moving to the qualitative side” she added.

The first factor is what is called:

The owner’s Goal

We’ve found significant research showing that if an owner has defined goals and plans for the future that are in line with market expectations for their company’s value, they’re going to have a much stronger exit. What is the owner’s defined goal for exiting the business — to get the most money, to take care of their employees and to ensure a legacy? You must then get to the “why” behind the goals and devise a plan of action. It almost doesn’t matter what the answers to the questions are; having achievable goals and a strategy for reaching them can increase the company’s value because it keeps the owner focused on improving the other areas of the business.

The second factor is called:

The owner’s role

The extent of the owner’s involvement is a critical indicator, but perhaps not for the reason you think. The more involved the owner is in day-to-day operations, the more central they are to the business, the less the business will be worth down the road. If the owner is the linchpin that holds everything together, what will happen to the company when they leave? Evaluating operations is more about the system and the structure of the team. Look at the organizational chart and who’s on it – are they good employees or bad employees? Examine the company’s processes and procedures and how new team members are trained and onboarded. The owner sets the vision, but it’s the team that increases company value by carrying out the vision.

The third factor is called:

Growth opportunities

Nobody wants to buy a business and keep it exactly as it is. They want to see potential for growth in the future, especially the potential for return on their investment as a buyer. Whether it’s a simple price increase or new locations, whoever buys the business is going to ask about growth opportunities. Indicators like product or service diversification in both the company and the industry it’s in give a good sense of whether the company is moving forward or standing still (and at risk of going backward). The more potential you can show, the more upside there will be for the next owner — adding up to greater value.

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