Reprogram Your Mind: How to Overcome Negativity

Reprogram Your Mind: How to Overcome Negativity

We’ve all heard them:

• “The meeting is going to be a waste of time.”
• “Kids today are selfish.”
• “This isn’t going to work.”
• “A virtual team is naturally disconnected.”
• “You’re too young to do that.”
• “You’re too old to do that.”

These statements are more than just words—they’re symptoms of a deeper pattern. Our minds are home to a complex web of reflexive tendencies, memories, beliefs, and conclusions. But here’s the good news: they’re also open to reprogramming. Here's how to reprogram your mind.

The Weeds in Our Mental Garden

We’ve all got them—those creeping, reflexive thoughts that quietly shape our outlook before we even realize they’ve taken root. “This won’t work.” “They don’t care.” “Why bother?” These mental weeds are subtle, persistent, and often disguised as logic or realism. But left unchecked, they crowd out creativity, connection, and the possibility of growth.

At Odyssey Teams, we believe that cultivating a healthy mindset is foundational to building strong teams and resilient leaders. That’s why our programs are designed not just to entertain or educate—but to reprogram. Through immersive, emotionally intelligent experiences, we help individuals and organizations identify the unconscious patterns that hold them back and replace them with intentional, empowering beliefs.

This process begins with awareness. It’s about learning to pause, reflect, and ask: What am I focusing on? What am I reinforcing in myself and others? Whether it’s a passing comment, a tone of voice, or a recurring thought, everything we feed our minds becomes part of the garden.

Science backs this up. The brain sees what it looks for. This is the Reticular Activating System at work—filtering reality based on what we expect to find. If we’re scanning for failure, we’ll find it. If we’re primed for connection, we’ll notice it. The challenge is to become intentional gardeners of our own minds—to pull the weeds and plant seeds of possibility.

Our team building and leadership experiences are designed to do just that. They create shared moments that interrupt negative patterns, spark new perspectives, and invite teams to rise above the norm. Because when you change what you’re looking for, you change what you see. And when you change what you see, you change what’s possible.

Recreation as Restoration

Is it time for a recreational experience disguised as a leadership program? Not a beach vacation (though that sounds nice), but a purposeful reset. Recreation means “to recreate anew, to restore physically or mentally.”

After two years of surviving COVID, our minds have become skilled at spotting threat, fear, and negativity. These filters helped us survive—but they won’t help us thrive. To move forward, we must intentionally restore our mental balance.

Maybe you adopted a dog, started exercising, learned to cook, or picked up a new skill. These outlets helped you stay grounded. But what has your team been doing to recreate and maintain wellness? What will you do next to align and inspire your people?

The Power of Words and Self-Talk

Before jumping to solutions, spend a day or a week simply listening—to the conversations around you and the ones inside your own head. You’ll notice how words shape your reality and influence your reflexive self-talk.

Most people lean toward lower expectations, negative projections, or threat-based interpretations. These patterns feel safe—they prepare us for disappointment. But they also limit us.

Understanding the Reticular Activating System (R.A.S.)

This is your Reticular Activating System at work. The R.A.S. is designed to prioritize anything threatening. Its default setting? Danger. It’s a survival strength—but unchecked, it becomes a weakness.

Example: You get an email to meet with your boss. Do you expect a promotion—or brace for bad news? These thoughts are normal, but if left unexamined, they can lead to stagnation, isolation, and missed opportunities.

When others “walk in your mind with their dirty feet,” they plant negative beliefs based on their own fears. Without effort, these beliefs take root and crowd out the positive things you’re trying to cultivate.

Confirmation Bias in Action

Imagine you’re about to join a virtual team meeting. A coworker texts: “Are you going to be on the call today? It’s going to be a total waste of time.”

Meanwhile, the meeting planners have spent days preparing, refining the agenda, and trying to bring value. But your mind is now primed to confirm the belief: “This is a waste of time.”

Confirmation bias kicks in. You interpret everything through that lens. Valuable insights become invisible. You leave the meeting and tell another coworker it was a waste of time. The ripple effect continues.

Now imagine the same coworker texted: “Are you going to be on the call today? It’s going to be a great meeting—I’m glad we’re finally getting aligned.”

Can you feel the difference? That one shift could change your mindset, your team’s energy, and your company’s culture.

Rising Above the Reflex

These are natural laws of human processing. Like gravity, they’re always present. But we can rise above them—by strengthening our minds, our teams, and our organizations.

The R.A.S. can help us survive, spot market trends, and prepare for challenges. But unmanaged, it erodes culture, limits results, and damages relationships.

Protect Your Mind. Cultivate Possibility.

Be mindful of what you allow into your mental space. Remove your shoes at the door. Stay open to possibility. Examine the influences shaping your thoughts, your team, and your company.

To learn more about this topic—or to explore how Odyssey Teams can help you pull weeds and plant seeds in your next virtual or in-person meeting—reach out. We’d love to help you reprogram your mind and recreate your team.

Written by Lain Hensley, COO and Co-Founder of Odyssey Teams