9 ways to stop thinking negatively
Our life is often guided by our thoughts. How we think determines how we perceive things and then act accordingly. Our thoughts define how we perceive reality. And reality can be harsh sometimes. People in these situations find it difficult to cope with them. They wonder how to stop thinking negatively. In this article, we will learn how to stop thinking negatively and how to start thinking in a better way.
It is normal for everyone to have negative thoughts. Whether it is for situations or for your boss at work, or your job, your partner, friends, family, people you don’t even know, and even yourself. But always having a negative feeling about them will not bring anything good. Furthermore, it makes the situation worse than it was before. Not only that, but it also affects your health- both physically and mentally. You would feel lazy and complain about almost everything and think nothing will ever be alright. But we still try to make things better and hope for good things.
No matter how worse the situations seem, positive thinking can open doors to many positive outcomes. But before we start thinking positive, we need to stop thinking negative. It is not easy to push away negative thoughts and feelings. Depending on the intensity of emotion and importance of the situation, sometimes it may even appear impossible to push these thoughts away. However, if you manage to keep your mind calm, you would be better at dealing with those thoughts.
Before we start on how to stop thinking negatively, let’s look into some of the ways that can cause the formation of a negative mindset. Often due to a series of unfortunate events, we start thinking about everything that went wrong.
Being unhealthy: Negative thoughts can be a direct outcome of bad health. As we fall sick, we become less energetic, therefore less productive. Unable to do things right or seeing other people being considerate around you makes you feel negative. Even our unhealthy practices have an impact on our thought processes. Therefore, it becomes important to learn how to stop thinking negatively.
Stress: Stress is actually good for us. It motivates us to get up and finish our requirements. It is actually the mismanagement of stress that causes issues in our life. It affects our health and our mental processes. We tend to think negatively if we are under prolonged stress.
Poor Sleep Quality: If you have a poor sleep cycle or having trouble sleeping, it can make you feel tired and lethargic. This again makes you feel unproductive and allows negative thoughts to follow inside your mind.
Anxiety: Anxiety always hinders positive thinking. It’s normal to feel anxious but when it is not kept in check it can cause anxiety disorders. Anxiety often cultivates overthinking which leads to negative thoughts. When we fall into some problem, we often expect the worst possible thing to occur, without realizing the other half of the spectrum that good things are possible as well. If you want to stop thinking negatively, anxiety would be something you need to get over.
Trauma: It is possible that a bad event or a series of bad events can cause trauma. When we find ourselves in similar situations, we immediately start thinking negatively and find it difficult to overcome these thoughts. It can be tricky to deal with people with trauma.
These are some causes of negative thinking. However, to stop thinking negatively and start unlocking new opportunities with positive thinking, there are a number of things you have to ensure. From looking after your health to looking after your environment there are a number of things you have to work on,
How To Stop Thinking Negatively
Acknowledge your thoughts: Sit back and relax. Let your thoughts flow inside your head and acknowledge them. In order to stop thinking negatively, you need to understand what your thoughts are.
Maintain a journal: Write your thoughts down on a piece of paper. It can help you maintain and track your flow of thoughts, You can understand your thoughts well if you write them on a piece of paper. Hence if you are writing it down, it will be beneficial.
Learn to take criticism: Criticism in the true sense means to point out both good and bad in their work, or behaviour. But usually, people only point out the mistakes where it becomes important to take criticism. Taking criticism means you analyze what they say and use it in a positive way. You can use this simple exercise to get a fair understanding of yourself. Ask your friends to tell you 5 good and 5 bad things about you. Note their responses and introspect.
Be Aware of your negative thoughts: Only when you know your thoughts can you stop thinking negatively. Whenever we catch ourselves thinking about bad outcomes we should try and tell ourselves to stop thinking negatively. It is vital as it can allow you to think again and in a positive way as well.
Change your thinking process: There are endless possibilities of how an event can turn out but mostly we focus on the negatives only. Change this process and try to think of the positives too. To acknowledge both the negatives and positives in a balanced way will allow you to think more practically and act accordingly.
Change your environment: When you find yourself thinking negative, move around and focus on other things or find yourself doing something else. If you are sitting in a room, probably go out to the balcony and have some fresh air. When you feel better, you can return and start thinking positively.
Surround yourself with Positive people: Your company matters a lot when it comes to how you think. As you hang around with the same people almost all the time, you start understanding and seeing the world from their perspective. Also, their actions, words, and thoughts have a direct impact on you. Hence, it is important to know your surrounding well and regulate it. They can have negative thoughts about you or their job and it can make you think the same way in the situation. You need to be aware of them and act accordingly.
Keeping positive company around will help you see the light even when you are in darkness. They will reach out to you in times of need to stop thinking negatively and aid you in positive thinking.
Practice Meditation and Mindfulness: Meditation and mindfulness can help you be aware of everything inside you as well as outside. It also helps in the relaxation of the body and mind and manifests positive energy within you. Mindfulness allows you to acknowledge and be grateful for things that you have. Meditation helps you channel your thoughts and inner wellbeing. Together they help you grow positively both within and outside and help you stop thinking negatively.
Therapy: If you are having a really tough time dealing with negative thoughts, you can opt for therapy. Various techniques help you channel the negative thoughts out and fill yourself with positive energy. A trained Therapist helps you understand yourself better and guide you to look at things from another perspective. Letting your negative thoughts out in a safe space without being judged feels like a weight off the chest. Therapy is very insightful and helpful and can lead to a positive way of leading life.
You can use these techniques to stop thinking negatively. Positive thinking can help develop a great relationship with your career, colleagues, friend, and family and with yourself as well. Thinking in a negative way can only destroy these things or even worsen the situation. Keep in mind that negative thoughts may still come inside your mind, however, it’s how you act and process the situation that determines the results. Focus mostly on being aware of such thoughts and change the narrative with a positive light. It will help you distinguish what is actually important and channel your energy for your development and also in your surrounding to stop thinking negatively.
If you think that you can add any point which will help to stop thinking negatively then do mention them in the comments.
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