Negative thoughts aren’t always a bad thing. Aknowledging that you made a mistake can be healthy.

But some negative thoughts are irrational and unrealistic. They can cause you to feel bad and discourage you from taking any positive action.

Fortunately, you don’t have to believe everything you think. You can learn to recognize when your thoughts aren’t helpful, and then you can replace them with more realistic statements.

In today’s Friday Fix, I explain some simple steps you can take when you have unrealistically negative (or BLUE) thoughts and replace them with true thoughts.

It’s a really easy but effective exercise for developing a healthier inner monologue. Once you start using it, you’ll likely be surprised to learn how many of your thoughts just aren’t healthy.

With practice, you can train your brain to work for you—rather than against you.