There is an array of things that can cause negative thinking. Let’s start with what exactly negative thinking is. Negative thinking can briefly be described as having self-defeating beliefs, negative thinking patterns are not always with you. Rather, they only surface when you are faced with an issue. Also, known as cognitive distortions, these negative thoughts will come to mind during times of stress and reinforce your self-defeating beliefs.
Negative thinking can take a toll on your body cause it can equate to what many would consider stress or anxiety. There is a big difference between stress,anxiety, and negative thinking. However, we will focus on negative thinking today.
Let’s say that you only believe you are deserving if you meet particular accomplishments or achievements. You may feel the constant need to do things in order to temporarily make yourself feel good. Think about how long those moments last for you. Do you have instant gratification, are you on cloud 9 when things go right. What about when they go wrong.. How long do you find yourself upset for?
A few things that may happen if you have negative thinking
Thought Rumination- Ruminating over one particular thinking or a few over and over.
Always thinking the worst case scenario
Restless sleeping
Losing focus
Self-Blaming
Self-Esteem issues
Depression
You might find yourself self-isolating from successful friends or family, and getting along better with those who may also have negative thinking.
Think about your thinking patterns, but be honest with yourself. Are you often a negative thinker? Do you find yourself being more negative at things that happen in your own life, the life of others or even both? Honesty goes a long when trying to repair your train of thought. So be truthful with yourself. Your thoughts are safe with you.
Good news ! Overcoming these negative thoughts are repairable. However, like anything else in life you have to practice. I mean practice regularly. Just think,you have years and years of these negative behaviors. Those thoughts are not just going to turn into positive ones overnight. The very first thing that needs to happen is self-awareness. Know exactly where you stand with your beliefs. Ask yourself these questions to find out just how negative they are and who they affect. If you have children you better believe that your negative thinking can also bounce right off you onto them.
If your negative thinking is more closely related to anxiety, be kind to yourself. No one asks to have a mental illness and it’s not your fault if you suffer from anxiety. So, also know the difference in where your negative thinking is coming from. It is coming from a long history of negative thinking, being around negative people in a toxic environment, or could it be stemmed from stress and anxiety. Once you realize where your negative thinking is stemmed from you will have a much better way of how you should go about repairing it.
One thing that is important for you to realize is to understand that you are deserving. Just because you think negative doesn’t mean that you are a bad person. Trust yourself, you’ve done something right in life! Don’t discount all the things that you have done in life that made you proud of yourself. Sure you may not be exactly where you want to be in life, it doesn’t mean just because you are not there that you will never get there.
It would not surprise me if the people who you frequently gather with have shared their feelings about your behavior by now. Perhaps, they have shared with you that you’re negative or have shared their opinion with other people. They may have even begun to distance themselves from you. People who may have been a part of your biggest support system may no longer want to be around you. We have to be careful not to run away people who mean us well in life. Do yourself a favor at some point when you’re ready to realize that you are truly a negative thinker, and can actually say it outloud then share your belief. Share your belief to those who still decided to stick around. Ask them to hold you accountable for your negativity. Trying to change your mindset will constantly require you to redirect your thoughts as soon as you become aware. For example, if you say there is no point in me going to the grocery store cause they will be out of milk. You might consider let me go to the store to see if they have my favorite milk back in stock. I can grab some other things while i’m there. I am sure that your negative thinking will be in much more depth than just going to the store for milk. However, something simple as that milk thought, just shows how even the simplest things might be affected by your thoughts.
- Redirect your thoughts! All of them, even the simplest ones.
- If you have a hard time redirecting your thoughts, validate your self belief. If you say “ I am the biggest loser and I never do anything right, I am just stupid” Validate it! Break down the sentence. Let’s rewrite it.
Negative : I am the biggest loser, and I never do anything right, I am just stupid.
Positive : I don’t always win but I have won before, I’m smart I can do it again.
You will need to continue to dispute your beliefs and your cognitive distortions, and replace them all with more realistic positive ones. When you begin to confront your negative thinking you will begin to notice how many of those thoughts are so far from the truth. Once you validate your negative beliefs are not true, accept the new positive belief. It would be unwise to constantly revisit those negative thoughts. Remember to trust yourself. You have been right before in the past.
Then remember how much control do you really have over the outcome? You have absolutely no control of how things turn out. None of us do. We put ourselves in positions to have things go the way that we want but we no there are no guarantees. We just have to trust that things will go right, we just have to believe that they will.
Learn more about manifestation and the laws of attraction if you want. The laws of attractions say that even our idle thoughts have an impact on how things may turn out.
Are you in touch with your negative thinking?
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