NEGATIVE THOUGHTS

If you want to clear your mind of "negative thoughts", read this:

Just a heads up. This is going to be a long thread. Make sure you read through the end and don't forget to bookmark this.

1. Think the Exact Opposite

The mind can only think one thought at a time. So negative thoughts and positive thoughts cannot coexist. If you remove the negative thought and replace it with its exact opposite, you clear your mind of the negative thought.

Most people think about things they don’t want to happen. They think about them, they worry about them, and they focus on them.

Eventually, they manifest the very things they didn’t want to happen. Don’t feed the beast!

2. Cut Off the Negative Thought

The instant you recognize you are thinking a negative thought, end it. Cut it off by inserting a totally different thought into your mind. Think of something else.

Try to remember your last vacation or become curious about the surroundings you’re in. The key for this technique to work is to interrupt negative thinking the instant you recognize it.

3. Go Outside

Spending time outdoors is a great way to purge yourself of negative energy. It isn't so much about the level of physical activity as it is about stepping away from the chaos of life to spend time quietly reconnecting with both nature and our thoughts.

4. Start a Journal

Acknowledge negative thoughts, don’t try to push them away. Every day, record every negative thought, where it happened, why it happened, and who it happened with. It will help you identify triggers and turn negative thoughts around next time.

5. Identify Areas to Change

Which areas of your life do you most often think negatively about? Perhaps it’s work, a relationship, or your downtime.

Start by focusing on one small area and on how you can approach that more positively.

6. Surround Yourself With Positive People

Negative people will:

- increase your stress levels - make you doubt your abilities, and - make it harder to manage negative thinking. Seek people who you can depend on to give grounded advice and feedback.

7. Make a gratitude list

Ever tried to tell a child to stop doing something? You may have noticed that the only thing that really works is redirection. You offer them something better to turn their attention elsewhere. Making a gratitude list has a similar effect.

Start by thinking about a single thing you’re grateful for. It can be your comfortable home, your health, or anything at all that you’re grateful for. Write it down. Then write another and another. You’ll be feeling better before you know it.

8. Try Movement And Meditation

To get out of your head, get into your body. A few minutes of seated 5-10 minute meditation or body movement can disrupt those thinking patterns. To get out of your head, move more. Feel more.