How to Stop Negative Thoughts & Reset Your Mind for Positive Thinking

The Mel Robbins Podcast

SiriusXM Podcasts

Education, Mental Health, Relationships, Self-improvement, Society & Culture, Health & Fitness

4.8 • 10.6K Ratings

🗓️ 8 May 2025

⏱️ 82 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In today’s episode, you are getting a step-by-step guide on how to change your mindset, stop negative thoughts, and make your mind work for you. What if the voice in your head — the one that criticizes, spirals, and second-guesses everything — could actually help you? In this powerful conversation, Mel sits down with one of the world's leading experts on the mind, Dr. Ethan Kross, PhD. He's a neuroscientist, award-winning psychologist, professor at the University of Michigan, director of The Emotion & Self Control Laboratory, and leading expert on the science of emotion, self-talk, and mental resilience. Today, he's here to teach you how to stop negative thoughts from running your life — using simple, science-backed tools. In this episode, Dr. Kross shares specific tactics, strategies, and insights you can use to break free from spiraling and reset your mind for positivity. If you're tired of overthinking, doubting yourself, or feeling stuck in your own head… this one’s for you. Class is in session, because after you listen to this, your brain will not be the same. For more resources, click here for the podcast episode page. If you liked this episode, you’ll love listening to this one next: 6 Simple Science-Backed Hacks That Will Make Your Life Better Connect with Mel: Get Mel’s #1 bestselling book, The Let Them Theory Watch the episodes on YouTube Follow Mel on Instagram The Mel Robbins Podcast Instagram Mel's TikTok Sign up for Mel’s personal letter Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes ad-free Disclaimer

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's your friend Mel, and welcome to the Mel Robbins podcast.
0:08.7	I just walked out of the studio here in Boston.
0:11.9	I am absolutely blown away by what I just learned about stopping negative self-talk from our guest.
0:17.5	You're about to meet him.
0:18.5	His name is Dr. Ethan Cross.
0:20.4	He's a professor at the
0:21.3	University of Michigan, a neuroscientist, and he spent the last 25 years researching how
0:26.5	your self-talk determines your experience of life and how it also impacts what it actually
0:33.3	feels like to be you. Now, this is something that I've struggled with, and I know you struggle with
0:38.7	negative self-talk, too, and the people that you care about struggle with it. I mean, I'm so
0:44.0	blown away by what you're about to hear and what you're about to learn. In fact, I've never
0:48.6	heard anyone lay out the exact ways you can stop negative self-talk. In fact, right out of the gate,
0:55.8	he's going to tell you there are four reasons why you and I talk to ourselves. I mean,
1:00.4	I didn't know these four reasons. And once you hear it, it's so fascinating. And it makes a lot of
1:05.0	sense. And then he's going to share that you say 4,000 words a minute to yourself. And just to put that into perspective,
1:12.4	that's like reading the first book of Harry Potter series
1:14.9	in less than 20 minutes.
1:16.9	I mean, that's a lot of words.
1:18.4	And if you're anything like me,
1:20.0	99% of what you're saying is pretty terrible.
1:23.4	I'm not good enough.
1:24.2	I shouldn't have done this.
	...

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