Cancel-Cancel Technique To

Erase Negative Thoughts

I often get questions from clients about what to do when they have all the worries and negative thoughts coming to mind, and I recommend this process to them. For example, the Cancel-Cancel Technique interrupts and erases a negative thought, making your subconscious receptive to a positive alternative.

Research shows that we have anywhere from 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts a day, most of which are negative and repetitive (you can read more about this in my blog post on Mindfulness here). Only 5% of those thoughts are new and original. Each thought comes into your mind at the rate of 1.2 seconds, and with each thought, you have the power to choose whether it will be a positive or negative thought.

This gives you an immense amount of power. What do you think happens if you think those negative thoughts all the time or tell yourself the same negative story over and over and over again? “My parents have never loved me; they always treated my brother/sister better than me,” or “I am not lucky in relationships. My boyfriend has cheated on me before and will do it again. I can’t trust him.” How many times have you told yourself this story? You start to believe every part of it; you are stuck in this story and constantly re-living it; you are programming your subconscious mind that this negativity and failure are the only way your life can unfold.

I like to use and recommend the Cancel-Cancel technique to my clients to stop negative thoughts. Remember Scarlet O’Hara from the “Gone with the Wind”? So, it is just like her saying: “I will think about it tomorrow.” Well, not exactly, but close.

It is normal and common for worries and negative thoughts to come to our minds. After all, we are in human bodies, which is how our minds work. The trick is to become aware of the negative thought that you are having and do something to interrupt it instead of allowing it to repeat itself in your mind. When you catch this negative thought, say to yourself: “Cancel, cancel!” and find a positive replacement for this thought, or release it all altogether and decide to think about it later, like Scarlet. This process interrupts and erases a negative thought and makes your mind receptive to an alternative positive thought.

You cannot stop the negative thought from occurring; it happens so quickly, and you can’t anticipate when it will happen. But you can have a replacement phrase ready. For example, the replacement phrase could be like these: “I am happier, healthier, and more relaxed than ever before,” “I am always well-provided for. The Universe knows what I need and takes good care of me,” or any of your favorite affirmations that are believable to you. You can repeat it about 25-30 times a day, every time the negative thought would come in.

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