Is Negative Thinking Damaging Your Life? 5 Tips to Calm Your Thoughts
Do you feel like you are always having negative thoughts and that they get in the way of your success? The problem with negative thinking isn’t having these thoughts, it is when you believe them that they have an effect on your life. However, there are some tricks you can use to prevent your negative thinking from becoming negative reality.
1. Use Positive Self-Talk to Change Negative Thinking
This may sound like a no-brainer, but practicing self-talk that emphasizes the positive is a way to address negative thinking. There is a difference, though, between positive self-talk and being naïve or avoiding having to deal with negative things. Self-talk is simply a reminder of the positive attributes you have. Some ways you can practice positive self-talk include:
- Recite a saying or mantra every day, such as when you wake up.
- When you don’t meet a goal, remind yourself of what you did accomplish.
- Think about your positive qualities.
- Have positive reminders or quotes posted around your home.
- When practicing positive self-talk, smile to yourself.
- Remember your accomplishments.
- Avoid labeling yourself as a failure or incompetent.
2. Practice Meditation to Change Negative Thinking
Meditation can be a way to slow things down and focus on your breathing, not your thinking. While you breathe in and out allow your thoughts to rise to the surface instead of suppressing them. Acknowledge the thought, let it go, and then return to your breathing.
3. Exercise to Combat Negative Thinking
According to the American Psychological Association, research shows that exercise has many positive benefits for the brain that affect your mood, such as an increase in serotonin. This can be especially true if you are participating in activities that you enjoy and are good at. There are several ways that you can include moderate exercise in your daily routine, such as:
- Walking in your neighborhood or near your work.
- Taking periodic breaks to get up and move around.
- Participating in recreational leagues for sports.
- Getting outdoors to hike or spend time in nature.
- Playing with your children.
4. Critique Your Negative Thinking
When experiencing negative thinking, take a hard look at your thoughts to determine whether or not they are valid. Dr. Barbara Markway, Ph.D., suggests, in Psychology Today, three questions you should ask when experiencing negative thinking:
- Is this true? Are your thoughts an actual reflection of reality, or are they something else?
- Is this important? Is your negative thought relevant to the situation that is happening now?
- Is this helpful? Do your negative thoughts contribute to solving the problem, or do they make things worse?
If you feel that your negative thinking doesn’t meet these criteria, consider asking yourself why you are having these thoughts? One way this can be done is by using cognitive therapy techniques to identify these thoughts and to modify the meaning of them.
5. Change Your Perspective to Avoid Negative Thinking
Do you get labeled as being a cynical person? Do you always seem jaded, or do you expect the worst outcome from a situation? A change in perspective can help you avoid negative thinking. Try to see the positive in a situation, instead of the negative. When presented with a problem, apply a solutions-based mindset to solving it.
Negative thinking can have a damaging effect on your life, but only if you let it. However, by taking a hard look at your thinking and using some simple tools, you can modify your thinking to have a more positive outlook on life.
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