How to Tackle Negative Thinking

How to tackle Negative Thinking?

In day to day living there occur many occasions when we tend to indulge in negative thinking. This is not good for our mental health. It leads to stress and many other stress related illnesses which manifest as high blood pressure, heart disease, acidity, loss of sleep, and mental illnesss to name a few.

Different kinds of negative thoughts come to our minds in various challenging situations. Here is a list of questions we should ask ourselves to get a very rational view about these negative thoughts:

1. Am I being an extremist? Am I thinking in all-or-nothing terms?
2. Am I condemning myself as a total person on the basis of a single event?
3. Am I blowing up my weaknesses and forgetting my strength?
4. Am I taking responsibility-or worse, blame- for something which, in the first place, is not my fault?
5. Am I taking something personally-which may have little or nothing to do with me?
6. Am I expecting myself, or another person, to be perfect?
7. Am I over-reacting and thinking in terms of a disaster?
8. Am I exaggerating about what my mistake would imply?
9. Am I worrying about the way things ought to be instead of accepting and dealing with them as they come?
10. Am I being a fatalist and assuming that I can do nothing to change the situation?
11. Am I assuming disaster in the future when I can only guess about what may happen?
12. Am I overlooking solutions to problems on the assumption that they would not work?

I do a couple of affirmations to boost my morale when faced with negative thinking :

"I love and approve of myself the way I am….. Louise Hay

Out of this situation only good will come. This is easily resolved for the highest good of all concerned. All is well and I am safe….. Louise Hay