Want to know how to control negative thoughts?
Are you struggling with negative thoughts daily, either in your business, work, or personal life?
Do you seriously want to be more optimistic about life generally by learning how to deal with negative thoughts?
Yeah! those dreaded thoughts that make you feel worthless, unloved, or even make you feel very anxious about the things you want to do.
Thereby, stopping you from taking action on your goals.
Almost everyone struggles with negative thoughts.
So, if you do also, don’t feel bad because you’re not alone.
In this unique blog post, we’ll share helpful insight into how you can better control negative thoughts that are ruining your chances of achieving success in life.
Stay with us as we take you through every step.
How To Control Negative Thoughts
While we might not be able to totally stop ourselves from thinking negative thoughts now and then, there are ways we can control them when they come.
This is so we can save ourselves from the harmful consequences of negative thinking and do what we ought to do when we ought to do them.
However, before then, there are several things we need to look at.
They include;
- Negative thoughts definition
- Signs of negative thinking
- Causes of negative thoughts
- Effects of negative thoughts
Defining Negative Thoughts
It might seem easy to define negative thoughts as thinking negatively towards certain situations.
This is true.
However, negative thoughts transcend beyond thinking negatively about things or situations.
It goes beyond our thinking habits or thought patterns.
Hence, negative thoughts are a negative mental attitude or perception about one’s self, other people around you, and situations.
It is usually accompanied by negative emotions that occur as a result of focusing on the worst or negative side of things, events, or situations.
Overall, negative thoughts or negative thinking is a self-sabotaging habit that makes you focus on how bad things are.
Thereby making you feel sad, bitter, anxious about situations, and unwilling to do anything that could make things better for you.
Hence, the need for you to know how to control negative thoughts.
Now you’re clear on the meaning of negative thoughts.
Let’s discover some of the signs of negative thinking.
This is so you can tell the difference between expressing anxiety over situations which is normal in some instances for most individuals and the self-sabotaging negative thinking habit.
Signs Of Negative Thinking; How To Tell That You’re Struggling With Negative Thinking
Most times it could be hard to tell the difference between expressing worries or your concerns over situations and negative thinking.
As humans generally, we are naturally wired to think things through before making any important decision.
In this process, we express certain concerns about the situation or decision we are about to make.
This could also result in us having different negative thoughts about the situation.
This is the natural human instinct that allows us to be cautious regarding all our decisions to prevent us from making costly mistakes.
Even more, there are times when we get upset about situations or certain negative occurrences.
When this happens, you’re bound to be filled with negative emotions and negative thoughts.
So then, what are those negative thoughts that you need to be wary of?
When does negative thinking become a problem that you need to take action against?
Here are some of the signs that you’re struggling with negative thoughts that you need to control.
- Difficulty in making decisions
- You don’t follow through on projects (you easily give up)
- You would rather not try at all than try and fail
- Excessive critical personality (self-criticism)
- Your past mistakes determine your future
- You struggle with self-guilt all the time
- You easily feel helpless and hopeless about situations.
If you experience any of these feelings constantly, it means that you’re struggling with negative thoughts that you need to control.
Now, let’s consider some of the causes of negative thinking.
Causes Of Negative Thoughts
This section would examine some of the causes of negative thinking habits in most people.
Anxiety over present situations or the future
Thinking of how things would turn out in your present and future situations can cause a lot of worries.
As a result, you begin to have all sorts of negative thoughts about the situation and how things might turn out badly for you.
You begin to visualize a lot of ways in which things could go wrong and the unforeseen setbacks you might encounter.
Negative past experiences or past failures
If you’ve had experiences where you failed and were ridiculed or criticized for it, the fear of experiencing such again might cause you to start having negative thoughts about your ability to succeed in another project due to your past failures
Perfectionism
This is a critical personality trait that can give rise to negative thoughts or thinking patterns.
Perfectionism is all about being obsessively concerned with flawlessness and achieving perfect results in whatsoever you do.
With this kind of mindset, you’ll constantly experience doubts about things that are not perfectly guaranteed to succeed.
Thereby, giving rise to all sorts of negative thoughts about the situation.
Stressful or troubling life events or circumstances
Troubling situations or events either in your personal, business, or professional life can also give rise to negative thoughts.
Such situations can make you think negatively about your abilities and capabilities generally.
Serious mental health and anxiety disorders
The cause of negative thinking could be serious mental health issues and anxiety disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), general anxiety disorder (GAD), depression among others.
These are mental health conditions that mess up the mind with all sorts of negative thoughts.
Consequently, making it difficult for most people to control negative thoughts or thinking patterns.
Overall, the cause of negative thoughts could be anything from physical, environmental, and most times health factors.
Understanding and identifying the causes of your negative thought would help you effectively handle, control, and even stop them in their tracks.
Now, let’s consider some of the negative effects of negative thinking.
Effects Of Negative Thinking
How do negative thoughts affect you?
- Keeps you stuck and stops you from taking action on your goals.
- Ruins your self-confidence
- Affects your mental health and clarity
- Affects your physical and emotional wellbeing; it can lead to physical and emotional stress
- Demotivates you thereby affecting your productivity and efficiency as an individual
- Limits you from living up to your full potential
In a nutshell, negative thoughts are bad for you because they fill your mind with so much negativity.
Thereby, making it difficult for you to remain positively minded as you work on achieving your goals either in your business, professional, or personal life.
Hence, the need for you to know the ways to stop negative thinking in its tracks before it ruins your chances of success in whatsoever you do.
Top Tips On How To Control Negative Thoughts
Having discussed what negative thoughts are, the contributing factors to negative thoughts, and it’s negative effects, let’s find out how to control negative thoughts.
Recognize The Negative Thoughts
Most time, we express worries over situations and how things might turn out.
It’s easy to get confused about these kinds of thoughts and negative thoughts that need to be controlled.
As humans, it is normal to express our concerns over situations or turn out of events.
However, when you become excessively anxious over everything, and such anxiety stops you from moving forward towards achieving your goals, then you need to control it.
This is why our first tip for you on how to control negative thoughts is recognizing the kind of thoughts you have.
How do you go about it?
Pay attention to the kind of thoughts that comes to your mind each time you’re faced with a situation.
For instance, do you constantly think of things like;
- I’m not good enough
- I don’t deserve anything good or I’m not worthy of anything good.
- This won’t work
- It’s bound to fail, it always fails
These right here are instances of negative thoughts that you need to stop.
When expressing concerns over situations your thoughts would be ;
- How can I do this better so that it doesn’t fail
- I hope it works if I do it this way
- …..among other things
Hence, you should be conscious of your thoughts as they come to you.
This is so you can recognize and stop them in their tracks before they completely ruin your chances of achieving success in whatever you do.
Thereby, helping you control negative thoughts.
Challenge Negative Thoughts With Positive Words
Another effective way to control negative thoughts and stop recurring negative thoughts is to challenge them.
When the negative thoughts start flooding in, it’s easy to quickly surrender to it and start to give in to all sorts of negative emotions.
Rather than that, reframe your negative thought pattern into positive thoughts.
How do you do this?
You do this by challenging negative thoughts with more positive words.
For instance, you hear a voice in your head saying;
- I’m worthless.
- I can never be good at anything.
Reframe such negative thought patterns with positive words of affirmation like;
- I am a wonderful person
- I am all that I need to be and can be better if I improve myself.
Another thing you could do to challenge negative thoughts is to listen to videos, ted talks, motivations speeches, or read motivational materials that inspire positivity in you.
This way, you’ll be able to stop negative thinking in its tracks and feel more positive about yourself and situations generally.
Consequently, helping you control negative thoughts.
Practice Journaling
This is another important tip for you on how to control negative thoughts.
Journaling is the process of keeping track of your thoughts via a thought diary.
Simply put, it is the process of getting rid of all your negative thoughts from your head into your journal or diary.
All you need to do this are a quiet place, a diary or notebook, and a pen or a pencil.
In your thought diary or journal, you can effectively write down your thoughts, and how they make you feel.
Simply practicing journaling can help you better manage your thoughts and change your negative thinking habits.
More so, it is an effective way to recognize your negative thinking triggers and help you control them better.
Thereby helping you control negative thoughts.
How to practice journaling to help you control your negative thoughts
- Make it a habit to write down in your journal at the end of each day things that got you upset.
- Capture the events that occurred; what happened, what caused it, what was your response to the situation.
- Write down how you felt about the whole situation.
- Write down what thoughts are going through your mind at that moment; do you feel guilty, irritated, angry, disappointed at yourself ow what.
By doing this you can easily identify and understand your thought patterns, how it’s harming you, and how you can change them.
Consequently, helping you control your negative thoughts.
Practice Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation is an effective exercise to stop negative thinking.
Mindfulness meditation is the process of maintaining awareness and staying in the present moment by distracting yourself from disturbing thoughts and focusing on more positive thoughts.
Most people tend to think that meditation is a state of mental calmness that involves not thinking at all.
Far from it, meditation actually involves thinking.
However, rather than surrendering yourself to your negative thoughts and negative emotions, meditation helps you focus on more positive thoughts.
Thereby, helping you control negative thoughts.
By meditating you shift your focus from your negative thoughts that are bothering your mind and you enter into a state of calmness while thinking of happy thoughts.
So, to better control, your negative thoughts consider practicing meditation each time a negative thought comes up.
How to practice mindfulness meditation
- Look for a quiet place without distractions around you.
- Get into a yoga pose, close your eyes, and take some deep breaths in and out.
- Do this until you start to feel a bit relaxed from the tension the negative thoughts are causing you to have.
- Try to focus on the fresh air around you or the warm sun across your face, or create a mental picture of your favorite place to be, focus on it and enjoy that feeling.
By doing this for 10-15 minutes, you’ll find yourself feeling better, happier, and more positive about life.
Also, making this part of your daily routine would help you better manage your emotions and control your negative thoughts patterns.
Identify The Source(s) Of Negativity Around You And Block Them Out
This is another way you can effectively get rid of negative thoughts.
When trying to control negative thoughts and stop them from ruining your life completely, it’s important to deal with the actual source.
Most times, what you see, hear, or expose yourself to can greatly influence your thinking habits.
What’s making you have negative thoughts about your business, professional, or personal life?
Is it social media, the news, past experiences, or negative friends?
Identify what they are and completely cut them off.
If you can’t completely cut them off, limit the amount of time you spend around them.
For instance, if you constantly, feel bad or underachieved in life generally after going on social media, you should consider uninstalling your social media apps.
Likewise, if you spend about 5 hours daily on social media, you should consider limiting it to about 1 hour or less daily.
Thereby, blocking out the source of negative thoughts and helping you control your negative thoughts.
Distract Yourself By Getting Busy
This is another thing you could do to gain more control over your negative thoughts.
When negative thoughts come to your mind sitting down and ruminating on them will only drag you deeper into the negative thoughts and emotions.
When negative thoughts come to your mind, the best thing to do is to distract yourself from them.
How do you do this?
For instance, you’re sitting in the office and you begin to experience negative thoughts you could easily use that free time to finish a work project you’ve been postponing.
More so, you could easily go for a walk outside and take time to admire nature.
Better still, you could do something fun like playing games, see a movie, watch your favorite comedy show or read a good book.
There are many things you can do to distract yourself and shift your focus from your negative thoughts.
Consequently, helping you feel better and control your negative thoughts.
Seek Help
This is another important tip on how to control negative thoughts to consider.
Sometimes the cause of negative thoughts could be due to serious mental or anxiety disorder.
In such cases, it is best to seek professional help from mental health experts.
There are treatments, procedures, or therapies that can be used to treat such conditions.
Also, there are special counseling sections where you can share your negative thoughts or emotions.
This will help you unburden your mind and get rid of the negative thoughts in your head.
Even more, these professionals can share expert advice on how to challenge negative thinking patterns as part of the treatment procedures.
Consequently, helping you control negative thoughts and be more positive about life generally.
Conclusion On How To Control Negative Thoughts
That’s it on our top tips on how to control negative thoughts.
Now a quick reminder of the major points discussed.
Negative thoughts come up now and then.
Different situations or circumstances you encounter either in your business, professional, or personal life might cause you to have negative thoughts about yourself and life generally.
While you cannot totally stop them from coming up, you can learn to control them.
This is so you can stay positive minded and stand a better chance of achieving success in all your endeavors.
Hence, use these tips today and learn how to control your emotions.
How do often do negative thoughts stop you from achieving your set goals?
Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.
We would love to hear from you.
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