Clare Josa's ABC technique is a simple, yet potent way to harness neuroplasticity to rewire negative self-talk in under sixty seconds.
Clare's research showed that 69% of people struggle with negative self-talk daily (from Clare's 2024 data). She saw clients trying to yo-yo between negative and positive self-talk, and she knew there had to be a better way. In 2015 she developed her ABC technique. She first shared it outside of 1:1 coaching sessions in 2016, and it has since been a core foundation technique in her work, with a major section on the ABC in her 2019 book - Ditching Imposter Syndrome.
Her journey to create the ABC was inspired by a childhood friend, back in 2008, as Clare will reveal shortly.
Read on to explore this model in detail.
Sharing Policy For The ABC
Clare Josa is on a mission to free the world from Imposter Syndrome, so she encourages sharing the name and overview of her ABC method, to help others. Please follow these guidelines:
- Attribution: When sharing, credit "Clare Josa, author of Ditching Imposter Syndrome" and link back to this page, with the clickable text: The ABC
- Restrictions: Content may be used for personal or non-commercial purposes only, unless otherwise agreed and licensed. Sharing in free-to-view public articles, podcasts, videos, and social media posts is permitted, with proper attribution, but not in marketing materials, lead magnets, or paid programmes or client work.
Thank you for wanting to make a positive difference in the world, whilst also respecting Clare Josa's intellectual property rights.
The Problem With 'The Secret' - The Birth of the ABC
Back in 2008, Clare was having a cuppa with a a childhood friend who had been reading 'The Secret'. If the book is new to you, it's basically that our thoughts create our reality - literally.
Clare's friend could 'get' the concept, but she had a huge block that was keeping her awake at night:
"But I can't control my thoughts, so how do I even do this stuff?"
She was going round in circles, beating herself up, knowing that negative thinking was blocking what she wanted to create in her life, but feeling powerless to prevent it - because no one was teaching how to choose which thoughts to think.
Clare realised her friend was right
Loads of people were teaching the 'what' - think positive thoughts. But the 'how' was missing. And Clare's already vast toolkit - which even included being a certified NLP Trainer (Neurolinguistic Programming) wasn't enough.
This realisation set Clare off on a quest that included certifying to teach yoga and mediation, as well as deepening her study of neuroscience, neurobiology, and psychology. Then, one day in 2015, she had a 'eureka' moment.
You can't flip from negative thoughts to positive ones without first going through neutral.
clare josa
Clare realised that when your body and nervous system are primed for negative thoughts, they'll reject the positive ones. You have to take the body through neutral first. And so the ABC was born - with a surprising insight:
the body chooses which thoughts to feed
Without going through neutral, the new positive thought feels like a lie, the body knows it, and the original negative thought wins.
Clare Josa
Clare Josa's ABC Technique stands for:
Accept. Breathe. Choose.
'Accept' is about not going to war with the thought, just accepting it happened, which removes its power. The 'breathing' technique is what takes you through neutral. The 'choose' is more than reframing a negative thought: it's about rewiring autopilot thought chains.
The past decade of teaching and refining this surprisingly simple process has helped hundreds of thousands of people to change their lives, from CEOs in London to a great-grandmother in Colombia.
This video shares the 'how'.
Clare Josa's ABC isn't just 'first aid' - it prevents negative self-talk
Clare found that by practising the ABC a few times a day, clients were rewiring their neurobiology to physically turn their inner critic into a genuine cheerleader, in just sixty seconds a day for a few short weeks.
The ABC Seems Too Simple?
The beauty of the ABC is that anyone can remember it - anyone can use it. In a world where we overcomplicate even basic tasks, that's a breath of fresh air.
But don't mistake 'simple' for 'ineffective'. The ABC works.
And if you train with Clare in her work, you'll learn deepening strategies to help clients overcome any internal blocks around this, to make it even more effective, and to tie it in with Clare's microwins strategy to fast-track retuning their inner radio station and changing their lives, with near-zero effort.
What's shared on this page is the entry-level foundation-point for the ABC. To share this with clients and have the impact they deserve, you'll want the deeper training with Clare, first.
Want To Dive In With Solutions?
Here are some of the ways Clare Josa could help you to tackle Imposter Syndrome, including getting started with the ABC today.
ditching imposter syndrome book
Section two of the book is great for this. It guides you through the ABC technique in detail, with ninja strategies, and shows you how to make them an easy part of your daily life, for near-zero-effort life-change.
Available in hardback, paperback, Kindle, and audiobook formats.
The imposter syndrome hacks™ app
Clare Josa's Imposter Syndrome Hacks™ app has a training for the ABC technique, and the deeper versions of this tool.
It also has other hacks for taming your inner critic, turning it into a genuine cheerleader, and waving goodbye to Imposter Syndrome, once and for all.
coaching imposter syndrome book
Written for managers, leaders, HR professionals, coaches and consultants, Clare Josa's 2025 book - Coaching Imposter Syndrome - includes a section on the ABC and how to share it with your your teams, not just for individuals, as a tool to shift workplace culture and improve wellbeing and performance.
Want to share strategies with colleagues & clients?
Clare Josa teaches the deeper aspects of the ABC, and then the tools needed for the identity-level work, in her coach certification programmes. She covers what teams most need to know about this in her keynotes and corporate workshops. Scroll down to find out about working with Clare.
Don't Know Clare Josa Yet?
Clare is considered a global authority in the fields of Imposter Syndrome, burnout and sustainable performance for individuals and teams. She has been an international keynote speaker for over 20 years.
Her research is cited in PhDs and taught on MBAs, worldwide, and she is the creator of the life-changing Safe to THRIVE™ and Natural Resilience Method® frameworks, which she teaches at Facilitator and Master Coach levels, as well as in the world's first Imposter Syndrome App - Imposter Syndrome Hacks™.
The author of ten books, a reformed engineer, and the former Head of Market Research for one of the world's most disruptive brands, she blends science-backed practical inspiration with demystified ancient wisdom, to help you create breakthroughs in ways that are fast, fun and forever.