How do you change your negative thinking

How do you change your negative thinking? I often struggle with negative thinking… it’s not unusual. Most people are hard wired that way. So what are some of the symptoms - inner critic, worrier, stress, anxiety, depression – are these words you see in yourself?    

Negative thoughts can have an impact on all areas of your life – health, work, well being, family, relationship etc. So how can you stop the negative thinking for good? There are lots of ways to deal with it short term, but what would the long term solution be? Here are some thoughts: 

1) Learn to recognise and identify negative thought patterns as they occur, and then look at how you can start to step back from them

Having negative thoughts is not unusual, and can happen as a result of problems, regret, guilt, criticism, anxious thoughts or worry. The main issue is when we believe negative thoughts are true. The key is to defuse those thoughts and stop paying attention to it., and remind yourself that those thoughts are often not true.      

2) Redirect your attention out of the thoughts in your head and bring your focus to your sense perceptions

Negative thoughts either come from reflecting on the past or being concerned about the future. It can be really powerful to redirect your attention to the sights, sounds and smells around you and be more aware and appreciative of the world around you. You don’t need to do this all the time, but it can help to centre you, and you’ll find if you do this more often, the negativity may flow away more easily! 

3) Practice Mindfulness and Meditatio  n

The area of mindfulness has increased in popularity in recent years, and it is acknowledged that it can reduce stress and anxiety. The main benefit of the practice is to quieten the mind, encourage you to be fully present and stop the mind wandering.   

4) Reflect on what useful questions you might want to ask yourself to untangle those negative thoughts

There are a number of questions that you might want to use to change the focus you have on the thoughts you have. i.e. Is it genuinely true? Then, there are constructive questions to help provide you with a new focus i.e. How can I make the best of this situation?

Using constructive questions can help provide action plans to move on from those negative thoughts that you have.    

These are all great areas to focus upon as you reflect upon how to move away from a negative thought process to a more positive one… these are not quick fixes, but I hope these tips may help you look more positively going forward.