Why are We Prone to Negative Thinking?
For some reason, negative memories seem to impact us more than positive ones. Perhaps, we tend to remember these moments more because they caused us grief at some point.
For instance, your coworker praises you on a wonderful presentation, but then mentions that one error you made. Somehow, all you can think about is that one mistake. Why is that?
Our brains seem to be programmed to expect the worst or dwell on a negative moment. Think about it, it’s much easier to stay in the same thinking pattern than it is to create a new one.
Positive thinking is far more difficult and takes more work. However, taking the steps to change your thinking pattern is more important than you may think.
Negative thinking makes us doubt ourselves and affects the risks we’re willing to take in life. We end up talking ourselves out of great things we’re perfectly capable of accomplishing.
“Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we often might win by fearing to attempt.” – William Shakespeare
What Approach Can You Take to Stop Negative Thinking?
Identify Negative Thoughts
Try to think about what situations set your negative thinking pattern off most. Disliking your job, or comparing yourself to others, are just a few of the usual suspects.
Frustrating or overwhelming moments can bring us down, leaving the door wide open for negative thinking.
Catch yourself in these moments, recognize them and write them down. Zeroing in on the causes for your negative thinking is necessary for reversing the pattern.
Be Grateful
Gratitude is one of the best starting points as it emphasizes what you already have to be thankful for.
Things you may otherwise take for granted are brought to light; family, friends, a home, your health, things you enjoy doing in your leisure time.
Being grateful causes an automatic change in thought pattern. It makes you focus on the good things in life and puts you in a much better position to stop negative thinking.
Be Honest with Yourself
Know that shifting your mindset will take time and work, give yourself the space to do this. You know yourself best, don’t expect it to happen overnight!
Recognize where you are in the process, how long have you been thinking negatively? This will determine how much time will be needed to change your thinking pattern.
Understand that you’ll really have to try your best as you may fall back to negative thinking. Remember, going back to old patterns is easier than developing a new ones.
Effects of Negative Thinking
Consider the effects negative thinking has on your daily life. First, it can take a toll on your physical health, causing you to have lower energy levels.
Low energy means less exercise, and less exercise can make you feel depressed about not reaching your fitness goals.
This can lead to weakened mental health, which can send you down a negative spiral and affect your emotional health as well. You’re much less likely to cope in emotional situations with a negative mindset.
While it might seem difficult at first, there are some effective exercises to stop negative thinking.
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Here are 10 Exercises to Stop Negative Thinking
1. Replace Negative Words (or Phrases) with Positive Ones
How we phrase things in our minds can affect us in real life. For example, telling yourself repeatedly that you can’t accomplish something, may result in just that. You’ve talked yourself into that outcome.
Start replacing negative words or phrases with positive ones. This won’t come naturally at first, you’ll have to actively reprogram your way of thinking.
Just as constant negative thoughts can affect our daily lives, constant positive thoughts can too, but in a good way.. right? This is a great first step to practice daily.
2. Be Mindful of Your Reactions
While we may not be able to control some of the events we are faced with, we can control how we respond to them.
Our reactions have so much to do with our thinking patterns. Think about the last time you jumped to a conclusion about something – your mind instantly going into negative mode – this has happened to me plenty of times!
Instead, try to think before reacting and expect more good from others. Learn to give people a break, we all have bad days.
This will keep you from dwelling on the situation all day, and may eventually break your negative thinking pattern.
3. Quality of Life
Surrounding yourself with the things that bring you happiness can add so much quality to your life.
If you make it a habit to savor positive moments daily, they will stand out more in your memory, and begin to have more impact than negative ones.
4. Prioritize Mental Health
Mental strength can make you immune to negative thinking.
When you hold yourself in high regard, negative thoughts seem to bounce right off of you.
Try focusing on building up your self esteem and confidence. Making yourself mentally stronger can help you beat negative thinking for good!
5. You Hold The Power
When you wake up, know that you are the only one that can decide how your day will go.
You have a choice, and that first thought can fuel the energy for the rest of the day, so make it a positive one!
In this exercise, try your best to listen to the positive voice in your head. Remember that you hold the power here, so use it!
6. Challenge Negative Thoughts
Stand up to the negative thoughts, analyze them. Do they make sense?
If you know you’re great at your job, why are you dwelling over that comment a coworker made?
It’s extremely important to recognize that thoughts are just thoughts, not facts. Don’t allow them to decide how you’ll feel about yourself.
7. Consider Who Else Your Negative Thinking May Be Affecting
We tend to bring negativity to others when we’re down, even if we don’t know it.
If we’re not careful, we can end up handing down this negative thinking pattern to those who look up to us.
Why not break this pattern for future generations? Think about how much brighter their lives could be with a positive outlook.
8. Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
Isn’t it scary to think that negative thinking can become second nature and even seem comfortable?
Try removing yourself from your negative thoughts and embrace the idea that good things can happen.
Do some positive things you wouldn’t normally do. Bring some pastries in for coworkers, take a different approach to criticism and laugh more in the face of negativity!
9. Mindful Meditation
Nourish your mind with positive thinking, guided meditation. This may take a few tries, but trust me, the repetition sinks in slowly and pushes negative thoughts further away.
I choose a different 5 minute meditation from Youtube to listen to each day in the mornings, and have found it to be an extremely effective practice.
10. Try CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
CBT has become very popular in recent years for its problem solving approach. This type of therapy uses experiments that challenge and seek to correct negative thoughts, replacing them with positive, more accurate ones.
I highly recommend educating oneself on the benefits this type of therapy may have to offer. Anything that focuses on reversing negative thinking has my vote!
The Bottom Line
While negative thoughts will always make their way into our brains, there are plenty of things we can do to stop their impact.
Savor special moments to live a more fulfilling life, and try your best not to be limited by your thoughts. Take risks, and if something doesn’t work out, at least you can say you learned from it!
How do you approach your negative thoughts? Are there some exercises that you recommend? I’d love to hear what they are in your comments!
