Do THIS to Reprogram Your Mind for More Positive Thinking
Mel Robbins (host), Brandy (guest), Peter (guest), Velvet (guest), Molly (guest)
In this episode of The Mel Robbins Podcast, featuring Mel Robbins and Brandy, Do THIS to Reprogram Your Mind for More Positive Thinking explores reprogram Your Inner Voice: Train Your Brain For Empowering Positivity Mel Robbins explains how negative self-talk and pessimistic beliefs act like dark sunglasses that distort how you see yourself and the world, quietly dictating your actions and limiting your potential.
Reprogram Your Inner Voice: Train Your Brain For Empowering Positivity
Mel Robbins explains how negative self-talk and pessimistic beliefs act like dark sunglasses that distort how you see yourself and the world, quietly dictating your actions and limiting your potential.
She introduces the reticular activating system (RAS) as the brain’s filter that only lets in what it believes is important, and shows how chronic self-criticism and doubt train this filter to spotlight what’s wrong.
Through practical tools like the daily “find a heart” game and thought substitution (e.g., replacing “What if it goes wrong?” with “What if it all works out?”), she demonstrates how to retrain the RAS to focus on wins, possibilities, and self-supportive narratives.
The episode emphasizes that this is not toxic positivity but a science-backed method to create a more peaceful, optimistic mindset that fuels action, resilience, and a kinder inner life.
Key Takeaways
Your mindset filters reality and drives your behavior.
Like tinted sunglasses, your beliefs color what you notice and how you interpret events, which then determines whether you feel hopeful and act—or stay stuck and passive.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Your brain’s RAS will amplify whatever you repeatedly focus on.
The RAS acts like a bouncer that lets in only what it thinks you care about; constant self-criticism and doubt teach it to highlight flaws and threats, while intentional focus on wins and gratitude makes it show you more of what’s going right.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
You can physically feel your brain reprogramming through simple attention exercises.
The daily “look for hearts” game trains your RAS to search for a specific, positive cue, proving how quickly your perception can shift and giving you experiential evidence that your mind is flexible and trainable.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Thought substitution interrupts negative spirals and changes outcomes.
By consciously replacing default thoughts like “What if it goes wrong? ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
This work is not about denying hardship but empowering your response.
While you can’t instantly erase discrimination, debt, or mental health challenges, a trained, positive mindset increases your capacity to face them, seek solutions, and avoid self-sabotaging inaction.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Your internal narrative can become a self-fulfilling prophecy—positive or negative.
Whether it’s dating, career, or self-image, repeated beliefs like “It never works out for me” or “I just haven’t met the right person yet” shape what you notice, how you show up, and what you’re willing to try.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Peace of mind comes from ending the internal war, not from perfection.
Using tools like heart-hunting, gratitude, and kinder reframes (e. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Notable Quotes
“You do not have to live like this. It is time to take the trash out and clean up your mind.”
— Mel Robbins
“Your life is determined by what it’s like to be on the inside of your mind.”
— Mel Robbins
“The RAS is the bouncer in your brain—and you write the guest list.”
— Mel Robbins
“If you can think bad thoughts, you can think good ones. You weren’t born doing this; somebody taught you to do that.”
— Mel Robbins
“You are not stuck with the thoughts that you think.”
— Mel Robbins
Questions Answered in This Episode
How can I identify the specific beliefs and ‘lens color’ that are currently shaping my mindset without even realizing it?
Mel Robbins explains how negative self-talk and pessimistic beliefs act like dark sunglasses that distort how you see yourself and the world, quietly dictating your actions and limiting your potential.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
What are practical ways to keep using tools like heart-hunting and thought substitution when I’m overwhelmed or in a genuine crisis?
She introduces the reticular activating system (RAS) as the brain’s filter that only lets in what it believes is important, and shows how chronic self-criticism and doubt train this filter to spotlight what’s wrong.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
How do I distinguish between realistic caution and a fear-based, self-sabotaging mindset that’s holding me back?
Through practical tools like the daily “find a heart” game and thought substitution (e. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
In what areas of my life is my RAS currently reinforcing a negative self-fulfilling prophecy—and what new narratives do I want it to support instead?
The episode emphasizes that this is not toxic positivity but a science-backed method to create a more peaceful, optimistic mindset that fuels action, resilience, and a kinder inner life.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
How can I adapt these mindset reset tools in relationships, workplaces, or communities where most people remain pessimistic or highly critical?
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Transcript Preview
You've tuned in to an incredible episode with your friend Mel Robbins, because today you're gonna evict the jerk that lives in your head. That negative self-talk has got to go. I mean, you wouldn't talk to a friend the way you talk to yourself. I used to be the exact same way. I got serious about changing the way that I spoke to myself, and I'm not just talking about the way that I spoke out loud. I'm talking about all the ugly stuff that I was saying to myself in my mind. "I don't belong here. It seems like nobody likes me. That person over there, they seem like they're mad. What did I do wrong?" I'll tell you what, taking on my self-talk completely changed my life, and today I'm teaching you this exact same process step by step. You can transform your mind. If I can do it, you can do it. (upbeat percussion music) Today, you and I are gonna talk about mindset, and I wanna start by telling you a little bit about how Mel Robbins used to go about her life. See, in the background of my mind, there was always this annoying, pesky voice that was running on a loop. And you wanna know what I'm saying? Some pretty nasty stuff. "You'll never be happy. You'll never get what you want. Why do you always screw things up? There you go, you did it again. Why can't you figure this out? What the hell is wrong with you? It's always your fault. They're mad at you. I can tell they're mad at you." And I know you're nodding along as I'm listing these horrible things that I used to say to myself, because you say this stuff to yourself too, but I got some good news today. You do not have to live like this. You may be used to listening to this garbage just like I was, but your friend Mel is here to say it is time to take the trash out and clean up your mind. A number of years ago, I went to war against the disgusting, annoying, destructive, and sometimes abusive voice that was in my head, and I survived. And I'm here to tell you, you can win the war with your own mind and you can have peace, and even if you're thinking, "Well, you know, I don't really hate myself, but I am kinda negative," you're gonna learn something so cool. You can train your brain to help you get what you want in life, and today, I'm gonna teach you how to do it. It is time to clean up your mind and make it a beautiful and positive place to live. You deserve that, and today, you're gonna learn how to do it. That negative self-talk has got to go. Admit it, you're downright abusive to yourself sometimes. I mean, you wouldn't talk to a friend the way you talk to yourself. You know how you are constantly saying you're never good enough and how you're always focused on what's going wrong and you're beating yourself down? I used to be the exact same way. It didn't matter how many good things were going on in my life. I was always waiting for the next shoe to drop. The self-talk, it felt like a beatdown. Do you ever felt that way? You're like, "Can I just escape this for a minute? Can I ever feel like I'm good enough?" Well, several years ago, I got serious about changing the way that I spoke to myself, and I'm not just talking about the way that I spoke out loud. I'm talking about all the ugly stuff that I was saying to myself in my mind. I mean, the old Mel, you might have seen me, and I would've had a smile on my face, and you would've thought to yourself, "Oh, that Mel Robbins, she's the happiest, most positive person on the planet." But at the exact same moment, I would be thinking and talking to myself, "I don't belong here. It seems like nobody likes me. Like, that person over there, they seem like they're mad. What did I do wrong?" I'll tell you what, taking on my self-talk completely changed my life, and the fact is, you can transform your mind. If I can do it, you can do it, and I did it through therapy, through studying and researching mindset and reading book after book after book after book and trying all kinds of stuff, and I turned my mindset around, and I learned how to make my mind work for me instead of constantly working against me. And the result, I am way more loving, encouraging, and I see the things that are going right. The person that you kinda think, "Oh, I know Mel Robbins. She's a positive person," that's how I am on the inside now, and I've learned how to tap into momentum and confidence and self-trust by changing my self-talk. And today, I'm teaching you this exact same process step by step. And here's my hope. My hope is that not only will you do this for yourself, my hope is that you will share this master class in mindset with everyone you know because we all need to know how to do this. And even the most positive and seemingly successful people in your life, guess what? They are hypercritical. They beat the heck out of themselves internally. They may not show it, but they do, and they need this information too. This is so important because you don't live your life on the outside. Your life is determined by what it's like to be on the inside of your mind, and the fact is, you deserve a mindset reset. I see something so much bigger for you. So on behalf of the future you, the positive you, the kinder you, I wanna thank you for being here for yourself. I have taught these same strategies and tools on stages around the world to my corporate partners. I have incorporated them into online courses that I've created and taught to hundreds of thousands of students around the world, and today, you're gonna be the one learning 'em. The fact is, you can absolutely reprogram your mind, and the criticism that's been part of your life story is not the whole story. Today, it is my honor to teach you how to write a new story, and I wanna start off with a question from one of your fellow podcast listeners that I know you're gonna relate to.... and that listener's name is Brandy. Check this out.
Install uListen to search the full transcript and get AI-powered insights
Get Full TranscriptGet more from every podcast
AI summaries, searchable transcripts, and fact-checking. Free forever.
Add to Chrome