Do you often catch your mind indulging in negative thoughts? If you do, you’re not alone. But the problem is that such thought patterns can impact the way you see the world.
The way you think has a spiraling effect on the way you act and behave in life. So if your thought pattern is predominantly negative, the chances are that you’ll attract more of such negative thoughts in the future. As a result, it will become more challenging for you to find mental peace and satisfaction in life.
But the good news is that, with a little awareness and practice, you can easily stop such thinking patterns and replace them with positive ones. But how exactly do you do that?
Here are a few ways to make that happen.
1. Practise Mindfulness
This might sound cliche, but practicing mindfulness is one of the most effective ways to stop your mind from indulging in negative thought patterns. This will help you become more aware of the way you think. As a result, you’ll know whether or not to engage in it.
You can start by spending a few minutes of your morning practicing it. Do some yoga or simply focus on your breath and distance yourself from your current thoughts. This will help you create some space between yourself and your thought pattern. It’s a great way to identify your thinking patterns and decide when to stop yourself from indulging in it.
2. Choose your Intention
Another very effective way of avoiding negative thoughts is to choose your own intentions. For that, you have to first understand when a certain thought comes to your mind. Try to be more conscious of what you’re thinking. Once you do that, it will be easier for you to label your thoughts. You’ll know whether the thought is creating anger, hatred, negative judgment, or any such bad feeling.
Now, you can choose whether or not you want to continue feeling that way. Try to justify how the feeling can do any good to you or to someone else. If you don’t find a good answer, consider it as a feeling that you don’t further want to continue with. This type of practice creates more awareness in you and helps you make better choices.
3. Know Your Triggers
In order to be able to convert your negative thoughts into positive ones, you need to know what’s causing them in you. Identifying the triggers will help you avoid them. So try to be more conscious of what you are feeling and when.
Sometimes meeting a person or being in a certain situation might trigger such thoughts in you. Identifying what’s causing it can help you prepare yourself to deal with the situation better. Once you know how to handle the situation, any kind of negative thoughts will automatically disappear from your mind.
For example, meeting a colleague and discussing a project at work makes you feel uncomfortable. Try to figure out what is in the situation that you don’t like. Then try to rectify it. If it’s your uncertainty about something, be proactive and clarify things before you meet him/her for your next meeting.
4. Talk to Someone
Sometimes talking to people can be extremely helpful when you’re dealing with negative thought patterns. Discussing what you’re going through can help you clear your mind.
So try talking to like-minded people. Tell them what you’re feeling. They might help you get a better perspective into things by telling you why things are the way they are.
Such productive discussion in which you exchange ideas and viewpoints can be super helpful in helping you prevent negative thought patterns and cultivating a more positive way of thinking.
As human beings, we all end up having negative thought patterns at some point or the other. And that’s okay, as long as you are willing to replace them with a fresh and more positive mindset.