Overcoming negative thoughts isn’t easy. You’ve got to be aware when your thoughts start turning negative, and you feel negative emotions rushing to the surface. In this article, you’re going to learn four ways you can conquer your negative thoughts.
- Tell yourself to stop
With self-awareness, you can easily tell yourself to STOP the moment you start feeling negative. When you feel like your thoughts are turning darker with each passing moment, and you feel rage, anger, sadness, fear, or other similar negative emotions intensifying, then you need to pause. Take a deep breath. Tell yourself to STOP.
And when you tell yourself to STOP, then you better believe yourself. You can’t just say STOP, and then go on thinking negative thoughts. You’ve got to reign in those emotions and do your best to replace them with positive thoughts.
- Don’t live in the past
Negative people usually dwell on the past. We’ve all had bad things happen in our past, but it’s the negative thinkers who continue to get stuck in it. Whatever has happened in the past should stay in the past.
You should learn to make peace with it so you can move forward. Getting closure is an important part of the process of learning to let go of the past. So, get it done as soon as you possibly can!
- Talk to yourself positively
Imagine yourself as your very own best friend. If your best friend was feeling down, you’d try to cheer them up, wouldn’t you? You wouldn’t leave them an emotional wreck.
Instead, what you would do is you would do your best to cheer your friend up. You’d perhaps ask him or her to go on a walk to clear their head. Maybe even treat them to their favorite snack or something. Then you’d tell them it’s not the end of the world. When talking to yourself, remember to always use positive words.
- Surround yourself with positive people
If you’re constantly surrounded by negative people, you would be absorbing their collective negative energy, and before you know it, you’ll be thinking negatively all the time. You’d be doubting yourself, you’d be doubting others, you’d be doubting everybody.
With positive people, however, you’ll experience the exact opposite. You’ll feel happier when you’re surrounded by positivity so seek out the kind of friends who would always cheer you up and motivate you.
