How to get rid of negative thoughts
How’s your thinking? And do you know how much of your thinking is negative and how much is positive?
We’re naturally wired to think more negatively, and if you’re not choosing what you dwell on, this safety mechanism definitely can skew how you react.
This can hold you back in your personal and professional life. It can:
prevent you from finishing goals and having your dreams
limit your creativity
lead to unnecessary stress and anxiety.
By adopting a more positive and therefore more balanced mindset, your focus becomes more open to opportunities and noticing the good things that happen all around you.
Here’s some tips so it’s easier to decrease the negative
to a more balanced viewpoint.
Think about your thinking and notice the negative. Ask yourself 2 key questions: is that thought useful, and is it true? (Hint: sometimes, to keep us really really safe our brains give us lying thoughts. Think of your brain as if it's your grandmother putting two jerseys on you to keep you warm - best intentions, but really bad outcomes) Then, instead of dwelling on the two jerseys, take them off and reframe the thought. So instead of “I’ll never be good enough to…” reframe it as “I’m making progress and I’m going to keep going.”
Practice gratitude. this has an amazing effect on your brain. It shifts your thinking to a different part of your brain, increases your immune system and decreases anxiety and depression. Even being grateful for a few things for a few minutes a day can balance your thinking enough to increase confidence levels.
Spend as little time as possible with negative people. They can influence your mood and, instead, look for those who encourage you. Those who drain your energy are not going to help you balance your thinking.
Take care of your sleep, water intake and exercise. There’s a definite correlation between mood and food, too. Lower the sugar and takeaways and you’ll notice an increase in energy and outlook.
Set some goals - and don’t stop.It doesn’t matter if you don’t get it right all the time - making progress to reach a challenge is so much more rewarding than just being a couch potato. Even small things like reading 5 pages of a book instead of scrolling social media, or going for a 20 minute walk will change your mindset.
Celebrate being you. You are unique and thinking about how you think, feel and behave as the only person on the planet with your DNA is worth pausing and smiling about. Really. Try it!
Changing negative thinking isn’t always easy but it is a beautiful way to begin to manage your thoughts, feelings and from that will come the actions that will change your life. For good.
Negative thinking will hold you back from being your whole self because it is biased - and it can have a significant impact on your mental health and well-being.
