As an example, imagine that you’ve just made a mistake, and you hear yourself saying something like, “I’m so stupid.” Immediately replace it with, “That’s not like me. I’m smarter than that.” Or, when you hear yourself about to say, "Nothing ever works out right for me," replace the negative with a clear, new positive directive to your brain: "I am good at making things work. I have a plan, I follow it, I stay with it, and I achieve my goal."