Avoiding Negative Thinking
“Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will.” — Zig Ziglar
The difficulty isn’t that we have negative thoughts. The problem comes when we believe those thoughts are true.
Positive thinking is very beneficial for our mental health primarily because it eliminates any form of paranoia and negative thoughts that can cause depression and stress. The process is actually a domino effect in terms of our overall health. Those who think positively feel happier and more contented with their lives.
In the book, The Happiness Trap, author Russ Harris says 80% of everyone’s thoughts contain some sort of negative content. So it’s normal to have negative thoughts. It’s part of our evolutionary heritage. We’re constantly scanning our environment (generating negative thoughts all the while) looking for problems to fix.
As a strategy to help combat negative thoughts, use the following 7 Ways to help prevent, or mitigate them:
- Make it a practice to spend most of your time around positive people.
- Don’t expect everything to be perfect. …
- Work with an active mindset. …
- Develop a positive morning routine. …
- Just breathe. …
- Become intentional about your attitude. …
- Try the displacement theory.
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