If you haven’t already heard, negative thinking is grabbing the attention of countless citizens worldwide. Everyone from movie stars to your neighbors are having them occasionally. But are there healthier and positive ways of thinking? Do we really have really effective methods to manage those negative thoughts? Creators and users of some specific methods now say you can enjoy a healthier life without the problems associated to negative thinking.
Counselors and Doctors have identified that we all have negative thoughts from time to time. But some of the most destructive ways of negative thinking is that derived from “automatic negative thoughts”. They jump into our mind so quickly that we barely notice them. Here we offer 5 tips to deal with this type of thoughts:
- Identify your negative thoughts and triggers. We start with a trigger, and in response to the trigger, we have a series of thoughts.
- Focus on managing your negative thoughts, not eliminating them. We have created the habit of automatic negative thinking, so it is not easy to get rid of negative thoughts quickly. But we can manage them and learn how to prevent the damage they can cause.
- Observe your negative thoughts. You can shape the nature of your internal monologue, and choose to listen to a more positive voice.
- Just stop it. Several techniques are very effective to help you stop negative thoughts immediately as they start.
- Learn to argue with yourself. If you counter-attack, will see that negative thoughts are false. In general, there is no evidence for them to occur.
Connecting with the last point, try to answer the following questions:
What is the objective evidence for this negative thought?
Is this negative thought an exaggeration? ( I am over-reacting, or over-generalizing?)
What are some other possible explanations?
Can I evaluate the situation in other more flexible terms?
Is this belief empowering or counter-productive?
How have others fared in similar situations?
How would I evaluate other people who performed as I did?
During our research we have found a great program entitled “10 Steps to Banish Negativity Forever“. People knowing about this program have shared with us that each step of the course covers one important facet of negative thinking in detail, with lots of thought-provoking information and tried and tested exercises to help you get an understanding of how your own thought processes and reactions have been shaped and what you can, practically, do about it.
