How To Stop Negative Thinking

Negative thinking is a highly destructive way of thinking. It brings us down, limits our experiences and destroys things that matter to us. A large majority of people suffer from negative thinking patterns and many never try to change what they think and believe on a daily basis. How we talk to ourselves everyday has a great effect on what we do, how we present ourselves to the world and our level of self-confidence.

When negative thinking takes over, our lives become extremely limited. Whether we learned this way of thinking, or acquired negative thinking patterns on our own, this way of thinking won’t help you live a happy and healthy life.

You can break free from the never-ending cycle of negative thinking and you can live free of negativity entirely if you work at it. Here are some tools to help you get on a healthy path of positive thinking, once and for all.

Practice Mindfulness When Possible

Mindfulness can be achieved through quiet time with your own thoughts and feelings or it can be acquired through the practice of meditation. Practice breathing deeper and start detaching yourself from the negative thoughts that try to sneak into your mind. See them from an observational point of view and dissect them.

If you need to, write them down on paper or tell a loved one. You will begin to see how untrue these negative statements really are. When you are grounding yourself and practicing mindfulness, you are becoming more aware of your thought processing patterns and this will give you more strength to be able to stop them eventually. Being aware is the first step to changing thought patterns.

Learn How To Cope With Rejection And Criticism

Many of us take on a sense of negativity when someone else tells us we are not doing something right, are not acceptable or that we cannot handle the job at hand. We walk away feeling alone, rejected and worthless. Learn how to pick yourself up quicker from these situations. Everyone goes through some form of rejection in their lives. We may not see it in the moment, but it is something to learn from. Once you can accept criticism without letting it get you truly down, you will become a stronger version of yourself. Negative talk won’t be able to touch you eventually and this includes your own.

Use A Negative Thought Trap Tool

Listen to the thoughts that enter your mind on daily basis and try to capture the ones that are lies and that may seem ridiculous if mentioned to another person. Catch the thoughts that wander into your mind such as, ‘I’m a failure’, or, ‘I’ll never be accepted’. Put them in a tight box and throw out the mental trash. Visualize these actions. The sooner you can catch irrational negative thoughts and prevent them from damaging your daily thoughts and positive thinking, the sooner you will be free.

Rid Yourself Of Strange Thinking Patterns

Ever heard of black and white thinking? Where there is no grey area to fall into? This is a common way of thinking for many of us. We think that events can go either good or bad, but not okay. If you tend to think in extremes, you must work on breaking it down.

For example, the world won’t end if you miss a deadline and your family won’t “hate” you if you cannot make it to a loved ones birthday party. The best way to break free from this type of thinking is to talk about your emotions with a trusted friend or counselor. They will offer you some logic when you cannot see outside of extreme negative thoughts.