E357. Kill the ANTs: April Garcia's 7-Step Formula for Destroying Automatic Negative Thoughts

About this episode

April Garcia discusses Automatic Negative Thoughts and presents a 7-step formula to overcome them.

Welcome Pivoter! Your brain is lying to you — and it's doing it automatically, repeatedly, and at full volume. In this powerhouse episode of PivotMe, April Garcia takes on one of the most insidious obstacles to high performance: Automatic Negative Thoughts, or ANTs. These uninvited mental squatters don't protect you from getting hurt. They just cost you opportunities, shrink your world, and steal your joy. April brings her signature no-nonsense energy to a 7-step formula for recognizing, challenging, and rewiring the thoughts that have been keeping you stuck — and she's not letting you leave without doing the work. Key Takeaways: What Are ANTs? Automatic Negative Thoughts are the reflexive, often unconscious narratives your brain generates to keep you "safe." The problem? Safe and small aren't the same thing. These thoughts don't serve you — they cost you. The Real Cost of Negative Thinking: ANTs keep you frustrated, angry, and small. They poison your relationships with others and with yourself. They rob you of the joy available right now. And most devastatingly — they cause you to dismiss opportunities without ever truly evaluating them. Your Brain's Real Job: April delivers one…

People in this episode

Host: April Garcia

Topics covered

• Automatic Negative Thoughts
• high performance
• mental health
• self-improvement
• mindset

Keywords

• ANTs
• negative thinking
• mindset shift
• self-sabotage
• personal growth

More episodes of April Garcia's PivotMe

• E360. Quarter Review How to Live in the Gain, Not the Gap · May 7, 2026 · 21 min
• E359. Stop Going It Alone: Why Asking for Help Is the Baddest Thing You Can Do · April 23, 2026 · 19 min
• E358. Why Willpower Is Losing — And How to Fix It (Plus a Big PivotMe Announcement!) · April 9, 2026 · 24 min
• E356. Lights, Camera, Action: Showing Up Like the Hero of Your Own Story (Pt 2) · March 26, 2026 · 12 min
• E355. You're the Star — Now Design the Set: How Your Environment Is Already Telling Your Story (Pt 1) · March 19, 2026 · 16 min
• E354. You're the One Holding You Back: Recognizing and Dismantling Self-Sabotage · March 12, 2026 · 27 min