I'm Manuel Saez, a product executive, builder, and two-time founder. I write about leadership, decision-making, self-awareness, and what I’ve learned building products, teams, and businesses.
Negative thoughts are an inevitable part of life.
I cannot recall a time in my life when I did not have some negative thoughts popping into my head.
Although I call them “negative,” they are not necessarily bad for us.
To me, the key is not to avoid negative thoughts. It is to be aware of them, recognize their effect, and consciously try to change the way I respond to them.
Changing the way I respond to negative thoughts can change my state of mind.
Thoughts will always be with us, but with awareness and practice, we can learn to use them to our advantage.
Our thoughts shape our mindset, the beliefs and attitudes that influence how we perceive and respond to the world.
Negative thoughts can cloud judgment and affect decision-making, sometimes leading to stress or stagnation.
By noticing and questioning them, I have found that I can regain clarity and make better decisions.
In this essay, I share my perspective on negative thoughts and how I try to navigate them with a more positive outlook.
I also share a few techniques and practices that have helped me reshape the way I think.
Understanding Negative Thoughts
Negative thoughts often come from the way we interpret what is happening around us. Sometimes our mind jumps to conclusions, expects the worst, or focuses more on what could go wrong than on what is actually happening.
I see this in myself often.
As a founder, negative thoughts have shown up as doubts about my abilities, fear of failure, and the tendency to imagine worst-case scenarios before I have enough evidence to justify them.
Fear of the future plays a big role. So do past experiences.
I have noticed that rejection, in particular, can stay with me longer than I expect. A new situation may be completely different, but my mind can still react as if the old experience is about to repeat itself.
That can make me overly cautious or keep me from taking risks I might otherwise take.
The more aware I become of these patterns, the easier it is to question them before they take over.
For me, that is the useful part of understanding negative thoughts. Not eliminating them, but recognizing where they may be coming from and deciding whether they deserve as much influence as I am giving them.
The Impact of Negative Thoughts on Entrepreneurs
Negative thoughts can have a real impact on entrepreneurs, especially when it comes to decision-making, creativity, and stress.
As a founder, I’ve experienced this firsthand.
When negative thoughts take over, they can create a cycle of doubt and hesitation. That is a terrible place to be when you need to make an important decision.
In the early days of building my companies, I often got stuck there. Fear of failure made me overthink decisions, delay action, and sometimes miss opportunities.
Instead of focusing on what I could do, I focused on what might go wrong.
That increased my stress and made it harder to think creatively or take the risks that were sometimes necessary.
I’ve also learned that decisions made from fear, anger, or resentment rarely lead me anywhere good. Those emotions can cloud judgment and pull me away from the bigger picture.
What helps me is noticing when I am operating from that place and shifting my attention back to what is possible.
When I do that, I think more clearly. I see more options. I become more creative.
For me, managing negative thoughts is not about pretending everything will work out. It is about making sure fear does not become the person making the decisions.
Recognizing the Voice in Your Head: Your Inner Critic
We all have a voice in our heads that can fill us with doubt. For me, identifying and personifying that voice was a big shift.
I named mine Pedro.
Pedro tends to show up during uncertain moments with criticism, doubt, and warnings. He is an amalgamation of people and experiences from my past that made me feel inferior, incapable, or not enough.
Giving that voice a name created some distance between me and the thought.
Instead of trying to silence Pedro, I started listening to him. Most of the time, what he is saying comes from fear. Sometimes there is something useful buried in that fear. Sometimes there is not.
The important thing for me is not to treat Pedro as the only voice in the room.
My inner critic gets louder when I am stepping into something new or facing uncertainty. Over time, I have learned to notice that voice, listen to what it is trying to protect me from, and then decide how much weight to give it.
Pedro is not my enemy. He is part of me.
But he does not get to make every decision.
That distinction has helped me face challenges with more clarity and confidence.
I have written more about this in:
➜ Strategies For Managing Your Inner Critic
Learning to Be Kinder to Myself
The way I talk to myself matters.
For a long time, I did not fully appreciate how much my inner dialogue shaped my confidence, resilience, and ability to keep going when things got difficult.
I have learned that being hard on myself does not necessarily make me stronger. More often, it just gives Pedro more material to work with.
What helps me is trying to treat myself with the same patience and understanding I would offer a good friend.
Some days that is easier than others. There are moments when my inner critic is loud, especially when I am tired, uncertain, or dealing with a setback.
When that happens, I try not to turn the struggle itself into another reason to judge myself.
I notice it. I give myself some room. I keep going.
Over time, this has helped me become more resilient and less reactive.
I have come to think of myself as my own best friend. That may sound simple, but it changes the way I respond when I make a mistake, fall short, or start doubting myself.
I still push myself. I still hold myself accountable.
I just try not to confuse accountability with cruelty.
What Helps Me Transform Negative Thoughts
When I was younger, I thought the goal was to stop having negative thoughts. Push them away. Replace them with positive ones.
I don’t think that anymore.
Negative thoughts are part of life. What matters more to me is what I do with them once they show up.
These are a few things that help me.
Reframing
When I catch a negative thought, I sometimes ask myself:
What if the opposite were true?
That simple question helps me loosen the grip of the original thought.
If I am thinking, “I’ll never succeed at this,” I might ask, “What if this is exactly what I need to grow?”
I am not trying to force myself into optimism. I am trying to make room for another possibility.
That small shift often helps me see options I could not see before.
Journaling and Reflection
Writing helps me get thoughts out of my head and onto the page.
That matters because once I can see them, I can usually understand them better.
I often journal early in the morning. I write about what is bothering me, what triggered it, and what story I may be building around it.
Sometimes I ask myself what evidence supports the thought and what evidence does not.
Over time, I have become better at recognizing recurring patterns before they take over.
My “Down Stream Thoughts”
Some people use affirmations. I do something a little different.
I keep a Notion page called Down Stream Thoughts.
It is a list I read when I feel myself slipping into a negative state of mind and need to come back to something more grounded and positive.
Most of my negative thoughts tend to live in the past or the future. This list helps bring me back to the present.
Here is what is on it:
There is no rush 🌻
It is happening. I am here in harmony, enjoying this present moment.
I know I am on the right path.
Things always work out for me.
I don't need to figure it all out right now.
People and circumstances are presented to me at the right time.
I have the wisdom to recognize and act upon them.
I am in harmony with myself, and I know what I need to do.
I feel the positive energy of this moment as a testament that I am on the right path.
I feel good because I consciously create and allow things to unfold.
My life is in harmony, and I know I will always have the resources I need to implement my vision.
The right people and circumstances come to me all the time.
I believe in conscious creation because I have done it before and am doing it now.
I do what is under my control.
I don't worry about what I can't control.
I abandon myself to the power of the universe and let things unfold.
I know things are happening for me.
I am using my creativity to have joy and help others.
I invite and welcome things to unfold in harmony.
Whatever happens is the best for me.
I am so lucky to be here and now feeling how I feel 🙏
For me, the important part is not just reading the words.
I have to believe them.
That is why I keep changing the list as I change. I want the words to feel true when I read them, not forced.
The list is not perfect. It does not need to be.
It just helps me come back to myself when my thoughts start pulling me somewhere I do not want to go.
Building a Support System
Having the right people around me makes a big difference.
Over the years, other founders, entrepreneurs, mentors, friends, and people I trust have helped me see things I could not always see on my own.
Sometimes I need perspective.
Sometimes I need encouragement.
Sometimes I need someone to challenge the story I am telling myself.
Building that kind of support system has been one of the most valuable parts of my journey. It has reminded me that I do not have to figure everything out alone.
I also try to stay close to people who share similar values, even if they are on a very different path. Those relationships give me a sense of connection and help me stay grounded when things get difficult.
For me, the important part is not having a huge network.
It is having a few people I can be honest with, people who will listen, tell me the truth, and help me see things more clearly.
What I’ve Learned
Maintaining a positive outlook has been an important part of my entrepreneurial journey.
It has not always been easy. I still have negative thoughts, doubts, and moments when fear gets louder than everything else.
What has changed is how I respond to them.
Over time, I have learned to notice negative thoughts sooner, question them more often, and avoid letting them make decisions for me.
Setbacks still hurt. Difficult moments still feel difficult. But I am better at looking for what I can learn, what I can control, and where I can go from there.
That has been one of the most valuable lessons I have learned as a founder.
I do not believe the goal is to eliminate negative thoughts.
For me, the goal is to understand them, manage them, and keep moving without letting them define what happens next.
Sending you good vibes 🌻
Manuel Saez