How to Stop Negative Thoughts
Are you a victom of Negative Thoughts?
Our mind contains positive and negative thoughts and emotions at the same time. To live a happy life you have to stop negative thoughts. These thoughts spark as the situation changes suddenly or frequently. It is easy to fall prey to a dynamic of negative thoughts, especially when we have accumulated several and generated inertias that mainly affect the filters we use to process information.
The thoughts we speak of can be changed in the same way as a small snowball that we let roll downhill greases. Thus, a small and innocent thought, released without awareness or intention, can end up becoming a large colossus that contaminates all our emotions, behaviors, and other thoughts. Do you know, What is Emotional Dependancy?
Like the force of the ball falling uncontrollably, getting bigger and faster, negative thoughts drain us of energy and take away our strength. And the more you indulge in those negative thoughts, the stronger they become. Also, just as it is more difficult to stop that little snowball when it has already rolled several meters across the valley and has grown in size, so is it to stop a ball of negative thoughts that has already started rolling.
So, intervening in time to stop the ball from rolling can be an excellent strategy, and therefore not having to make a great effort to achieve the same goal.
Know, what to do with negative thoughts?
A happier life is the name of challenges, many times without giving us respite and without taking into account the resources we have. Having negative or defeatist thoughts in this scenario is normal. However, feeding them, holding them back, or even chasing them lowers the quality of life, decreases our happiness rate, and poisons the image we have of ourselves.
What we need do have to attack our self-esteem in this way?
Negative thoughts form the walls of your prison, a prison you create for yourself. Breaking it and getting yourself free from prison is as simple as changing the way you think.
Negative thoughts sometimes hurt and in many other ways, it affects our behavior badly. It can make us act desperate when there is no need or even encourage the possibility of throwing in the towel when we still have a lot to say for resources and skills. In short, negative thoughts tend to condition our decisions and not for the better.
So why do we feed negative thinking when we know it hurts us?
The problem starts when the first negative thoughts pop up and we don’t treat them well. It gave birth in our mind, and grows, keeps growing. In short, when the ball is small and has not contaminated everything it touches. For example, there are people who deal with the negative thoughts, or rather, the anxiety they produce by “stealing” the refrigerator. A strategy that tends to generate even more negative thoughts, in this case, regarding our ability to self-control and our body.
With these types of thoughts, there is another curious phenomenon: even if you are aware that you have to forget that thought, it is very difficult to deactivate it. The more you think about forgetting it, the more it is present and the more it goes deeper in your mind. And you stay there, pondering over an idea that not only gives you a hard time but can seriously compromise your mental health.
How to stop negative thoughts?
Stop negative thoughts can’t be done within a short time. These involve many factors when one gets to know about himself and starts practicing to stop them.
So how do we get rid of this negative thinking?
In fact, you cannot completely avoid negative thinking. Sometimes negative thoughts are just a spark in our minds. When this happens, we need to be aware, so that we can recognize them immediately and therefore know when we are thinking negatively.
Only by being aware of our negative thoughts, we can take steps to deactivate them. The following strategies will allow you to stop negative thinking and will make it easier for you to think positively.
1. Observe your thinking:
Negative thoughts are generally the product of cognitive distortions or irrational thought patterns. Most of the time, Negative thoughts are temporary and don’t stay too long. Look at them as if you were a spectator. If you don’t let them take over your mind, they will dissolve. Visualize them as logs traveling downstream. Sooner or later you will lose sight of them. Accept your negative thoughts and let them go.
You can also think that they are like clouds. You observe them but you don’t judge them, in this way you don’t get emotionally involved and you don’t become physiologically active. Moreover, you establish a distance between yourself and the thought and you realize that you are not your thought. For this, the technique of awareness would be very useful.
2. Rephrase any question you are reflecting on:
Ruminations are excessive patterns. When we reflect on an idea, we do it convinced that we can solve something just by thinking about it more. Something that, in general, is useless. You need to clarify what is true in your thoughts and discard what you have created in your mind before you start looking for a solution. Do not be surprised if after eliminating the fantasy you find that there are no problems, other than what you have created yourself.
For this reason, the ideal thing is to observe thought without judging it. Because by judging it we get involved, we give it a judgment of subjective value. If we look at it without prejudice, we will see reality as it is. That way, we won’t go around thinking one thing or the other or making different imaginations in our minds that only lead us to states of anxiety and sadness.
3. Move and act physically based on your thinking:
When you find yourself trapped in a negative thought, just move outside of the circle. Changing the chip to awaken positive thoughts isn’t that easy when your mind is busy looking for a way to grieve. It’s a great time to go for a walk, run, game, dance, meditation, or practice yoga. Don’t stop and think; your mind is very busy; let your body take over and take your mind elsewhere.
Exercise and outing increase serotonin levels and lower cortisol, which means it increases happiness and reduces anxiety. So moving around when negative thoughts invade us is a great idea that will undoubtedly bring us some good results. You might also like, How to be Happy in Life | 8 Simple Tips to a Happier Life!
4. Avoid negative thinking triggers:
A song, an image, a reading, what you see on television, the company of certain people. As soon as you find out which stimuli trigger your negative thoughts, avoid them. And, as much as you can, replace them with others that awaken pleasant sensations in you. Changing the scenario is one of the convenient options. Don’t beat yourself up and don’t make it harder.
5. Surround yourself with positive people:
If what you see, what you hear, and what you read are positive, if the people around you are positive, it will be easier to keep negative thoughts away. Any negative thinking triggers will be easier to defuse if optimism surrounds you. The stimuli that accompany us in our day are very important when it comes to creating a good atmosphere. So the best thing is to try to find what gives us well-being. Therefore, always prefer to surround yourself with positive people and pleasant experiences.
6. Repeat the positive affirmations where you previously thought negative:
Negative thinking is usually a learned habit. So instead of being flooded with habitual negative thoughts, get into the habit of thinking positively in those circumstances. To remember or reinforce it, you can keep it in mind, written on paper, in the background of your computer or mobile phone, or even somewhere on your skin.
7. Remember that no one is perfect and move on:
It’s easy to stop at your mistakes. But the only thing you can do is learn from them and move on. Nothing will change no matter how much you ponder over. And if what awakens your negative thoughts is a weakness or a limitation, focus on your strengths, powers, and virtues. If you can’t change what you have, make the most of what you have.
Moreover, keep in mind that you have the potential to learn from any situation, no matter how adverse it may seem. So if you make a mistake, instead of whipping yourself, it is better to learn from it as a failure brings a life lesson with it.
Negative Thoughts won’t last forever:
Negative thoughts are fleeting and temporary unless we do otherwise. They don’t have the real power of their own, but they can do a lot of damage if we give them a chance to grow. A thought has no other power than what you give it. Negative thoughts gain momentum when activated. Deactivating them later is a difficult task: it is no longer a thought we are talking about a dynamic.
Everyone is responsible for the way they manage their thoughts. It doesn’t matter why that thought was born: the important thing is that you can turn it off and that you can create a suitable environment to reduce that time of thinking. The key is to detect those negative thoughts before they have time to entrench themselves in your head and conquer allies.
So, be brave and welcome everything that gives you strength, positivity, and virtues. There is no place for Negativity in your mind. Say goodbye to all types of negative thoughts and emotions; so replace them with positivity.
So, What is your strategy to Stop Negative Thoughts?
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