You Hold the Needle ~ Brightplus

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Do you ever hear a voice in your head? A voice that says mean things?

I do.

For a long time, my own voice in my head was not kind. When I wanted to try something new, it would say, “You can’t do that.” If I made a small mistake, it would say, “You always fail.”

I believed this voice. I thought it was telling me the truth. So I listened. I did not take chances. I stayed where I was safe. I felt small.

It was like listening to a broken record. The same bad song, again and again.

Then, one day, I had a new thought. It was a simple thought, but it changed my life.

What if that mean voice is not me? What if it is just a old record, playing a song I have heard too many times?

A record can get stuck. The needle falls into a scratch and plays the same part over and over. But the needle can be moved.

I realized I am the one holding the needle. I am not the broken song.

I can lift the needle. I can choose a new song to play.

This idea was a small, quiet spark in the dark. The stories we tell ourselves build our world.

But if your story is making you sad, you can change it. You can write a new one.

1. Listening to the Scratch

I used to feel bad a lot. I didn’t know why.

I felt worried. I felt nervous. I thought that was just life.

Then I learned something important. Before I felt bad, I had a thought. A quick thought in my head. I never noticed these thoughts before. They were too fast.

So I started to slow down. When I felt that nervous feeling, I would stop. I would be quiet for a second. I would ask myself:

“What did I just think?”

Slowly, I started to hear the thoughts.

Before talking to someone, I felt nervous. My thought was: “You will say something stupid.”

When someone looked at me, I felt shy. My thought was: “They don’t like you.”

I finally heard the broken record. It was these quick, mean thoughts. They were the reason I felt bad.

Just hearing them helped me. When I heard “You will say something stupid,” I could think, “Oh, that’s just my old thought.”

It was not the truth. It was just a thought I kept having.

And once I heard it, I could do something about it.

2. Talking Back to the Static

I caught my bad thoughts. But they were still strong. I had to make them weaker.

I learned to talk to my thoughts. I asked them questions.

When I thought, “I always fail,” I would stop. I would be quiet. Then I would talk to that thought.

I asked one question: “Is this true?”

I would think. Do I always fail? No. I tie my shoes. I make dinner. I call my mom. So, “always” is a lie.

I asked another question: “What is the proof?”

The proof for the bad thought was one thing. I made one mistake.

Then I looked for good proof. I looked for things I did right. I got out of bed. I went to work. I laughed today. The list of good things was long. The bad thought was wrong.

I looked for scary words.

My bad thoughts used scary words.

Always

Never

Everything

When I heard “I never do good,” I would change it. I would say, “I feel bad now. But I have done good things before.”

This helped me. The bad thoughts became quieter. I was not being mean to myself. I was just finding the truth. The truth was that I was okay.

3. Choosing a New Song

I stopped the bad thoughts. Now my mind was quiet.

I needed a new thought to play. But it had to be a true thought. A kind thought.

I did not say, “I am the best.” That felt like a lie.

I said a new thought that was true.

My old thought was: “You will do a bad job talking.”

My new thought was: “I am nervous. I know what I want to say. I will try my best.”

This new thought was not magic. But it was true. It helped me.

My old thought was: “Do not ask for that job. You cannot do it.”

My new thought was: “I can learn. It is okay to try. I will ask.”

This new thought did not promise I would get the job. It just let me try.

At first, the new thoughts felt small. The old thoughts were loud and strong.

But I kept using the new thoughts. Every day. Like practice.

Now, the new thoughts feel normal. They feel like my real voice.

The old thoughts still come sometimes. But now I can choose. I choose the new thought. I choose the thought that helps me.