Stop Thinking Negative Thoughts! - 2 Techniques to Help You Stop Negative Thinking

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Why is the art of negative thinking so annoyingly easy?

What is it that makes the majority of people live with a "glass half-empty" mentality as opposed to a "glass half-full" one?

Why can't we stop negative thinking in its tracks?

The answers are varied and many, but the most universal consensus is that for some reason we have brainwashed (or been brainwashed) ourselves into a negative thinking habit. In order for us to fully utilize the abilities and skills we were born with it's important that we learn how to stop thinking negative thoughts. Bottom line - negative thinking serves no purpose and holds us back in life. We know it's bad and we know thinking negative thoughts is only preventing us from becoming what we dream of being, but still, we continue relentlessly!

Why We Need to Stop Negative Thinking

“For many, negative thinking is a habit, which over time, becomes an addiction... A lot of people suffer from this disease because negative thinking is addictive to each of the Big Three -- the mind, the body, and the emotions. If one doesn't get you, the others are waiting in the wings ."- Peter McWilliams quotes

It is true, negative thinking is a habit and yes we have all become addicted, aside from the lucky few who managed to break away from the pack. So, the answer is for us to stop negative thinking once and for all as negative thoughts only serve to hold us back - yet... we persist. Admittedly, even for me (not that I'm anything special, just the author :)) it is extremely challenging to stop thinking negative thoughts though, because despite the fact that we may have decided to make the effort and are making progress, we turn on the T.V, open the paper, talk to a neighbor and...back to square one. How do we stop thinking negative thoughts when the rest of the world seems to be obsessed with it? A challenge indeed!

That's the sad thing - negativity sells!

Swimming in A Sea of Negativity

Despite all the magnificent beauty and wonder this world has to offer, humanity has decided to turn negativity into an art. It rears its ugly head everywhere, there is no escaping it. The news is 90% negative, T.V series' focus on the negative aspects of humanity and IT SELLS, we watch it, we record it, save it for later after a hard day at work! Incredible how deeply entrenched the habit has become, wouldn't you agree? Therefore, theoretically, wouldn't it be possible to stop negative thinking by reducing our exposure to those things?

Stop Negative Thinking by Cutting Down on Exposure to Negativity

An obvious step to assist you in your quest to stop negative thinking then, is to reduce your exposure to the negative influences around you. There is a universal misconception that not checking the news to see what is happening around the world in regards to wars, natural disasters etc is selfish, as if we are wrong to avoid negativity. Don't get me wrong, I care about my fellow man, however I can't see how immersing myself in their suffering is going to ease their pain, can you? Granted, keeping up to date with what's happening around the world is useful and advisable these days, however, just keep in mind if you wish to stop thinking negative thoughts; cutting down your exposure to negativity is an effective way.

Rather than immerse ourselves in our fellow man's suffering, we can better ourselves until we are in a position to aid those in trouble, right? We then achieve to aims, we stop negative thinking AND we help others in less favorable positions because we CAN.

Stop Negative Thinking People from Infecting You with Negativity

Lastly, stop allowing others to pile their negativity on your shoulders. When someone comes up to you and starts complaining or gossiping, walk away, or change the subject immediately and if they challenge you, stand your ground and tell them the truth.

"I'm sorry but I don't want to be negative, can we talk about something else?"

You'll be doing them and more importantly you a big favor by doing so. You'll be depriving the subconscious mind of more material to activate the negativity habit and the roots of the habit will weaken. Obviously, the more you avoid bad news and negative people, the further along you'll progress on your path to stop negative thinking.

Read on because I'm now about to share 2 great techniques to help you stop negative thinking and regain a foothold in your life. Win back your inner world and the outer will soon follow.

"The current perception I get from the evening news is that the world is dominated by human failure, crime, catastrophe, corruption, and tragedy. We are all tuning in to see how the human mind is evolving, but the media keeps hammering home the opposite, that the human mind is mired in darkness and folly." - Deepak Chopra

Instant Dismissal

You can use this technique to stop negative thinking the exact moment it begins. As negative thinking is a habit and our brains are filled with pre-programmed negative thoughts; one or more for each situation, if we can rein it in by stopping the negative thoughts as they occur, in time the thoughts will stop altogether.

Next time you find yourself in a queue, don't allow those thoughts to run free, "Why is this taking so long?" "I always get stuck in queues!" stop thinking negative thoughts as they materialize and mentally shout "stop" with as much mental force as you can muster. Once you have done that, move on to a more positive thought, a thought that will serve you in some way. Your mind is your own personal space, the outer world doesn't have power to enter it unless you allow it to do so.

Protect your inner sanctuary, and build it up with good thoughts. Be Patient. It takes time to learn how to stop negative thinking, but once learned you will be a much happier person.

Opposites

This can be used immediately after the "dismissal" technique and creates a potent combo to help you stop negative thinking hopefully for good.

As the human brain can only concentrate on one thought at a time, an effective way to control your thoughts is to replace them with their direct opposite as soon as they appear. Going back to my earlier example, if you were stuck in a queue and this thought popped into your head, "God I hate queues!" you could replace it immediately with, "This is useful, now I can give my friend a call," or "It's alright, this will only take 2 or 3 minutes."

It's up to you what you use, as long as it is positive. The subconscious mind relies on you to give it the input it needs to form and regulate habits, therefore its quite alright for you to take away the negative input and replace it with positive, the subconscious will just form a positive thinking habit instead.

Stop negative thinking by reprogramming your subconscious.

At first, like anything new, it will feel fake and rather absurd to be treating your brain like a child, but essentially it is a child, it needs you (mind) to feed it, teach it and reward it. If you teach your subconscious correctly, you will find that you eventually stop thinking negative thoughts, probably without even noticing.

I have given you two good techniques to assist you, so now it is up to you to put them to good use and utilize them to stop negative thinking. Remember, be patient. Rome wasn't built in a day but when it was built all the hard work was most certainly worth it!

Remember - stop negative thinking+start positive thinking= happiness and a good life!

“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results."-Willie Nelson