14 Clever Tricks to Overcome Negative Thoughts & Thinking

Many of us can relate to all of these points, and many of us can only agree with some of these points. But ultimately we all agree that there needs to be a protocol that we follow for ourselves in order to deal with all the negativity around us and have a more positive approach towards how we deal with the difficult situations in our lives.

According to research, an average human being has around 60,000-80,000 thoughts in a day. Sounds fascinating right? Out of these, around 85% of these are negative thoughts, 15% of which are based merely on some baseless assumptions that our mind came up with subconsciously at some point in time.

All these statistics make one point very clear no matter how intelligent, optimistic, carefree, or an overthinker you are, you may have undergone some sort of negative feeling, resulting from various external and internal reasons.

“An entire sea of water can’t sink a ship unless it gets inside the ship. Similarly, the negativity of the world can’t put you down unless you allow it to get inside you.”

With a fast-moving life and all things available to everyone right at their fingertips, we are loaded with information coming from every direction. As clear as it can be, the above-stated quote subtly indicates how important it is for us to brace our minds from all the negativity prevailing around us. We all have a routine of cleansing and bathing every day to get rid of all the dirt and grime from our bodies. Similarly, equal attention should be given to cleansing our mind, so that the quality of our thoughts is always in sync with a healthy quality of living.

To ensure this, we need to focus on three major steps-

1. How to control a negative thought?
2. How to deal with a negative thought?
3. How to overcome a negative thought?

At a glance, these may seem all similar in nature but on a closer look, they all are co-dependent in nature. Let’s see how-

Whenever we come across any situation that activates the negative side of us, instead of immediately reacting to it take a moment to think. Is it really something that you can afford to be sad over? Will you be content with this way of dealing with any problem in due course of your life?

Will being negative change the situation into something fruitful for you? Just having these few seconds of patience will give you a lot of control over how you let this affect you.

On practicing it, you will notice that you are no longer a prisoner of your impulses that spoil your entire day just by dealing with a situation the wrong way. Try to find out what positive learning outcome the situation has to offer you despite being difficult.

Having a positive approach towards it will help in controlling the immediate spreading like wildfire, of a negative thought in your mind.

Next, let’s consider, you have, standing in front of you a giant obstacle that has completely immersed all your logical senses and problem-solving skills within it leaving no room inside your brain for finding any way out of it.

This means that the negativity has already entered your system and all you are left with now is to do nothing but deal with it. You can either feel pity for yourself while getting deep into your own negativity or you can look the obstacle dead in the eye and accept it as a positive challenge, finding out solutions rather than looking for reasons as to why this happened to you.

Obviously, the second option is the most appropriate. This way, while you are dealing with your difficulty you will be learning a lot through your problem-solving techniques.

Finally, once you understand this mechanism of how our brain plays tricks with us while dealing with any kind of negativity, it becomes less of a headache and more of brainstorming while handling difficulties.

You come to know that not only having a positive attitude towards almost anything that happens to you, will lead to your increased peace of mind but it will also give you a wider perspective towards different methods and ideas that are waiting to be discovered.

All this will slowly and gradually help in building up a positive attitude. And you may not realize when you went from being a pessimist to an optimist without putting much effort.

Here are some things to try out for a good dose of positivity:

• After waking up in the morning, stay away from your phone for at least half an hour. Never check your emails or messages right after you wake up. Give that time to yourself by taking in some fresh air and drinking lots of water.
• Maintain a gratitude journal and update a list of all the things you are grateful for in your life. Doing so will fill you with positive energy.
• Talk to people around you and let them know how you feel about certain either good or bad. Expressing your views will make you feel content and will keep away any kind of overthinking or overanalyzing.

Read more about effective communication skills by clicking here

• Read about famous and successful people or listen to their interviews. How they lead their lives and their happiness mantras will inspire you in many ways
• Exercise, work, meditate, and do things to keep your body fit and energetic. This will boost up your metabolism and help keep all the negativity at bay.
• Stay away from all the negative company in your life. You don’t need any of those people around you who spread pessimism and hatred.

And lastly,

• Train your mind to see the good in everything. Positivity is a choice. The happiness in your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.

“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become a habit. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.” — Lao Tzu

Q. How can you stop negative thinking and thoughts?

Negative thinking brings us feelings of anxiety, sadness, frustration, depression, etc. So, one should avoid negative thoughts by following specific methods. Because, of negative thinking and its resultant thing, anxiety does not allow us to perform well in our work or study or any social functions, such as singing, dancing, playing musical instruments, acting in the theatre, or any other stage show. Thus, try to prevent negative thoughts from entering your mind and affecting you.

Following are a few ways how you can ignore negative thoughts and keep yourself happy and relaxed:

• Try to recognize your thinking style: Trying to understand and identify your thinking style is one of the most important methods of avoiding negative thoughts from entering our minds. Try to recognize precisely how you are thinking in the present moment. Only you will be able to develop strategies to prevent any negative thoughts from coming to your mind the next time. You can also avoid negative thoughts from staying in your mind for a long time by using this method.
• Practice coping with criticism: People with Social Anxiety Disorder are unreasonably fearful of criticism or rejection by society. You should not worry so much because many people in this world are much less judgemental, critical, or rejecting than you expect them to be.

It is actually all in your mind that people in this society will judge you a lot more, reject you totally, or criticize you very much. Therefore, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is used. This process is done in process with an expert through a pretended conversation to cope with such negative feelings in the future. So that you will be able to give assertive responses to criticism. The main focus of this therapy is that you should be able to cope with criticism and rejection from other people in this world.

The following is an example of a role-play session:

• Therapist: Your hands are shaking. Is there something wrong?
• Person (Client): No, I am just feeling anxious.
• Therapist: For what reason are you feeling anxious?
• Person: I get anxious while speaking in front of others and in social situations.
• Therapist: Only you and I are sitting here, no one else.
• Person: I just have that feeling sometimes.
• Therapist: Why? Are you mad or what?
• Person: No, I am not mad. I get the feeling of anxiety while being with others.
• Therapist: I think you are crazy.
• Person: You might not be knowing about it. But some people get this feeling. That does not mean I am crazy!
• Therapist: You might not accept. But I think it’s not normal to behave or shake like this in everyday situations!
• Person: I can understand that it might not seem normal to you as you are not familiar with this.
• Therapist: I think it’s very weird to shake like this! I think you might be nuts.
• Person: No, I am not nuts. Please don’t call me crazy. I am normal. And, it’s just a feeling that I get in some social situations.

While this role-play gradually occurs, the person (client) gets irritated by the other person being critical of him/her or judging him/her.

So, the person should try to create a list of thoughts, which other people might ask him/her, or tell him/her and be critical and judgemental towards him/her. Then, he/she can create a list of positive responses to be given to the other person. This process of CBT is called ‘Assertive defense of the self.’ The following is an example of this remedy that can be used in practical life:

Critical statement: Your hands are shaking. You are shaking. Is there something wrong with you?

Assertive response: My hands are shaking, and I am shaking because I have got anxious now. Some people are afraid of water, and some people are afraid of heights. Similarly, I get anxious when I am around people. I am not different from anyone else. And, I am not the only one in this world who gets this feeling. Some other people also have this fear. And, no one talks about it to others.

One other way to help yourself is to argue against your inner critical and judgemental voice. First, practice this at your home, when you are not with others or in social situations, to practice defending your inner critical voice. After that, you will learn how to defend yourself in front of others in social situations. This process aims to prepare a more confident and assertive method of dealing with criticism, negative judgment, and rejection from society. Thus, you will learn how to cope with those circumstances of your social life.

Try to learn how to stop thinking negatively: One of the main parts of a treatment plan of CBT includes Cognitive Restructuring. This process helps you recognize and change negative thoughts into positive, helpful, and more flexible responses. It can be done in therapy or on your own. The Cognitive restructuring process is a step-by-step process in which negative thoughts are recognized, evaluated for precision, and then replaced with positive thoughts and affirmations. At first, it might be challenging to think in this new way, but gradually, with time and practice, positive thoughts will come every time naturally to you.

Conclusion:

• Negative thoughts do not allow us to stay in the present moment. Negative thinking drains all our energy (even when we have not done any practical work). Positive thoughts and negative thoughts both come to our minds. Related Read: Quotes on Negative Energy
• But which thoughts we allow to stay in our mind that matters. Don’t ever allow any negative thoughts to stay in your mind. Because keeping negative thoughts in your mind will lead to over-thinking.
• Overthinking is terrible because they are the silent destroyer of the health of the human mind and body.
• You can’t live a positive life with a negative mind.
• Try to recognize the pattern of your thoughts. Recognize the time or circumstances in which negative thoughts come to your mind so that you can try to ignore those evil thoughts accordingly. When we become aware of our negative thoughts, we will solve the particular problem quickly.
• Start working on the remedies so that you can perform your tasks in a better and more effective way. And, you won’t blame yourself for any negative thoughts coming into your mind.
• Also, if, by chance, you are not able to perform an activity well, then you won’t blame your negative thoughts or the external circumstances for the particular result.
• Always take ownership of your mistakes or failures.
• Don’t shift the blame on others. Negative thoughts are just thoughts, and they are temporary.
• So, don’t react according to those negative thoughts. Be yourself. You are what matters the most. Don’t get carried away by any negative thoughts. What stays with you permanently is your good deeds and actions, not any negative thoughts.
• Always try to have positive people with you, whether they may be your friends or relatives anyone. Positive people are good for us because their positive thoughts, positive actions, and positive talks benefit us immensely.
• They are suitable for our mental health. Because negative people and their negative thoughts, adverse actions, and negative talks affect us in a degrading way. Whether we notice it or not, being friends with pessimistic people affects our actions and thought processes negatively.
• So, keep away from negative people. Always be friends with good and optimistic people.
• Stop living in the past. Forget all the unpleasant things of the past. Start living in your present moment.
• Then you will be pleased. Learn from your past mistakes and move on in your life. Always follow a fixed and healthy routine every day. That will help you keep negative thinking out of your mind. Always keep yourself busy with something or the other. Then you will have positive thoughts in your mind often.
• Other people’s viewpoints do not matter in your life. You should have self-confidence and believe that your thoughts are suitable for your mind and matter the most.
• Always have positive affirmations in your mind, such as, ‘Everything will be fine and good.
• If you can overcome negative thoughts efficiently, then you will become pleased and peaceful. Because happiness is an internal affair, it does not depend on others. We are responsible for our happiness.