In the era of smartphones and laptops, life has become mundane and stressful. It’s very important to stay positive in mind to achieve success and happiness simultaneously. Unfortunately, negative thoughts can contribute to complex issues like depression, anxiety, stress, and low self-esteem.
These feelings are not only unpleasant but will also cause hindrance in maintaining social and family relationships. It’s time to get rid of the negative thoughts and start acting positively. But the question is, how? You will be surprised to know that the key to changing your negative feelings lies with you only. All you need to do is understand how you think and the situations that trigger the negative thoughts and minimize the effect accordingly.
- The famous finance expert Jonah Engler says that most of you are very concerned about your physical health. But very few show equal concern for mental health. When you feel some physical discomfort, consult the doctor and undergo treatment to get well. But why don’t you show the same zeal when negative thoughts depress you?
- It’s wrong to think that only you suffer from such mental dilemmas and negativities. Millions of people all across the globe are suffering from some form of negative mental state, especially since the pandemic, which has changed the lifestyle of the human population to a great extent.
Continue reading to know how practicing a few things and monitoring a few aspects of life will help you to bring back the positive vibes of life.
What is a negative thought?
You won’t find any precise definition of negative thoughts. It’s more of a feeling that makes you feel low or worse than your present mental state. You continue lamenting the things that have not happened as you wanted or things that you could not achieve. But in the way, you forget about the good things that happened in your life and how you achieved many things. Negative thoughts are toxic to mental and physical health.
Coping with the emotions
It is not an easy task to cope with the negative thoughts that push you into a world of darkness. Every person has a reason that triggers the negativity within. You cannot do anything good with a negative mindset. Hence, it is necessary to change the negativity into positivity.
Understand your emotional state
There can be numerous triggers to stressful conditions. A very tiring day at work may trigger negative thoughts. Putting your sincere efforts to achieve something and then being unable to achieve the goal can bring negative emotions. You have to recognize what is the cause that is triggering the negativity.
Ask yourself,
- Are you overthinking?
- Are you misinterpreting the condition?
- Is it necessary to react in the situation?
This analysis will help you to calm down and iterate the trigger in your mind to recognize the situation and consciously stop the negative thoughts with analysis.
Make the changes
The biggest step is to understand your emotions and understand the causes of the triggers. Now, you can slowly plan how you address the problem. Some common ways to deal with the situation include:
- Cutting down on the work stress, be it at the office or home. Delegate the tasks, develop boundaries, and don’t shy away from seeking support.
- Assertive communication is critical to managing any conflict happening in relationships.
- Cognitive restructuring is a great method to change negative thought patterns. There are professional therapists who can help you to recognize, challenge, and change the cognitive distortions leading to negative thought patterns.
It’s impossible to eliminate every source of stress. Wor pressure will be there. Domestic problems may continue. But that does not mean you will contemplate a single happening instead of trying to change what you can.
Find the right outlet
You can make changes in your life and control your negative emotions. But the stress triggers will continue to exist. Mindful thinking will definitely help in bringing about less frustration. But there should be other healthful outlets too for dealing with these emotions more strongly.
- Exercise regularly. The production of good hormones as you exercise will also help maintain a good emotional state.
- Meditation is very helpful. Although initially, you may face difficulties in concentrating. But gradually, you will learn to “space out,” and then you will not feel overwhelming emotions anymore.
- Have fun. You have to look for even small opportunities to have some fun. As you laugh, you will be able to change your negative perspectives easily.
Always keep in mind that the needs and abilities of people vary from one individual to the other. You can always try the common ways to cope with stressful conditions and also maintain a positive vibe.
Identify and nullify the negative thoughts
As you start observing your thoughts, you will learn to identify the negative thoughts clearly. Such distorted thoughts lead to distorted behaviors too.
- Don’t jump to conclusions. Why are you assuming something bad about what someone else is thinking when you don’t know about the thought process of that person? Before knowing how things will turn out, avoid making wrong assumptions.
- Don’t label yourself. Many people might say that you are not good at speaking or mixing with people. But the moment you tag yourself as an introvert or “poor in public speaking,” you are destroying the positive thought stream.
- Don’t blame. If you have been the reason for a mistake in the past, there is no rule that the same thing will repeat itself. Stop blaming yourself or some particular entity for everything that goes wrong.
- Don’t mark your statements with “should.” It will only contribute to a negative perspective. Think about what you “ought to do” to feel optimistic.
Jonah Engler always says that identifying and accepting your negative thoughts will give you more power to generate positive thoughts. Past regrets and fear of the future won’t help you to face the challenges. Experience teaches in practical life. But you must not draw negativity from experience that can hinder your growth in the future. Stay positive to achieve better than you aspire to.