Your mental attitude determines how you perceive the world. If that attitude is primarily negative, it can have ramifications for everything, including health, career, family, and so on. Furthermore, negative thinking can have a domino effect, attracting even more negative thinking.
Fortunately, we can gradually train ourselves to think better over time by using simple techniques. Forbes Coaches Council coaches offer advice on how to get started below.
- Schedule Negative Thought Time Every Day
Committing to 10 minutes per day of ruminating and reviewing negative thoughts is a counterintuitive strategy for gaining control of them.
Every day, Negative Thought Time (NTT) must be 10 minutes long. When you have a negative thought during the day, write it down and tell yourself you’ll go over it at NTT. You will gradually regain control, and negative thinking will cease.
- Replace Negative Thoughts with Positive Thoughts
We replace negative thought patterns, not overcome them. Those negative thought patterns are well-worn neural pathways for the vast majority of us. Four easy steps:
- Take note of when you began the pattern.
- Recognize that you want to change a pattern.
- Explain why you want to be different.
- Choose a different behavior that will help you achieve your goals.
- Act as your own best friend
We’re cruel to ourselves. Almost 90% of our self-talk is negative. Three steps are involved:
- Let it go. Allow it out to help the process, not to dwell on it. The pity party lasts three minutes.
- Keep track of it. Recognize when you are having negative thoughts. Awareness allows for reframing.
- Reframe the situation. Consider what your best friend would say to you once you understand why you are being meaner.
- Write Instead of Thinking
Make a list of the reasons why the negative thought is present. Writing instead of thinking helps to clear the mind, and seeing the words on paper or a screen makes it easier to make sense of it and move forward.
- Make a conscious effort to find things to love, like, and appreciate
Instead of fighting negative thoughts, actively seek out better-feeling thoughts. One powerful way to do so is to express (out loud if possible) what you love, like, and appreciate.
Are you about to have a difficult discussion? “I like how the coffee tastes today.” “I like the way this chair feels against my back.” You’ll find relief if you reach for it.
- Pose Difficult Questions to Yourself
Consider your responses to some difficult questions.
- What benefits do I gain from negative thought patterns? What is the prize for me?
- What am I losing by thinking negatively? What are the expenses?
- What advantages would I gain from thinking positively? What are the costs of thinking more positively?
- What happened in my past that caused me to think negatively? 5. What am I going to do now?
- Develop New Habits
Rather than thinking of it as “overcoming” negative thought patterns, consider it as establishing new habits.
You accomplish this by directing your attention to subjects where there is nothing to “overcome”: subjects about which you already feel good and thus think positively. That can be anything: Your pet, your painted toe nails, being outside… Begin with something simple.
- Make Use of Affirmations
When you wake up with smile and express gratitude for the new day. Make a list of daily affirmations such as “I love the people I work with,” “I make positive contributions every day,” and “I am open to inspired thoughts.”
If a negative thought arises, recall a past success and the feelings that accompanied it. Positive thinking is a daily task that is well worth the effort.
- Create a Success Routine
It entails setting aside time each morning as you awake to meditate and reflect on the person you want to be and the life you want to live. You also set a few important goals to keep the momentum going in the direction of your dreams.
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