Do you ever find your mind wandering off at the most inconvenient times? Or do negative thoughts creep in before those important moments? Learning how to manage negative thoughts can help unlock your potential. Learn how to effectively manage your thoughts to enhance your life and overall wellbeing.
Unhelpful thoughts can be distractions or even destructive forces in our lives. The good news is that you can take control.
Your mind – correctly used – is your most powerful ally. When you manage your thoughts, you have your mind working for you. Imagine the possibilities when you can dismiss or replace those counter-productive negative thoughts. By doing so, you can achieve more and experience greater satisfaction in life.
Try these strategies to manage those pesky negative thoughts
Create space between your ‘self’ and your ‘thoughts.’
Recognise that you can choose whether, or not, to engage with your thoughts. You don’t focus on every person, tree, and car you pass when you’re driving down the road. Most of these things pass through your awareness without you pursuing them further. You can do the same thing with your unhelpful thoughts. Allow them to simply pass on by. Your thoughts are simply something that you experience. Your ‘self’ has primacy over your ‘thoughts.’ Your ‘self’ defines you – your thoughts don’t.
Recognise that it is your brain’s nature to produce random thoughts.
It’s the nature of your brain to produce thoughts. It’s always going to give you something to think about. Occasionally, those thoughts are useful. Frequently, they’re frivolous. Sometimes, those thoughts can be quite disturbing. We have evolved to pay more attention to negative thoughts. This is the negativity bias. By recognising fear as an emotional response rooted in our evolutionary past, we can better understand and learn how to manage negative thoughts.
Meditation is a helpful tool for understanding the nature of your mind.
The first thing you notice when you attempt to meditate is the random and restless nature of your mind. Focus on your breathing. When you find yourself fuming about your boss, wondering what happened to your high school friends, or making a mental grocery list, simply redirect your attention back to your breathing. Notice the changes when you breath out for longer than you breath in. Using such deeply relaxed states therapeutically can take your development to a new level.
Focus your attention on a thought of your choosing.
You have the potential to think about anything you choose. You can think about riding a flying bicycle, or what you have chosen to accomplish today. When you’re experiencing an unhelpful thought, you can decide to think about something more useful. Recognise that you have the ability to direct your thinking as you see fit.
Apply logic.
Poor thinking leads to poor decisions. When your thoughts are leading you astray, put your logical mind to good use. Ask yourself what a sensible person, or your role model, would do in this situation. What would you advise a friend to do?
Are negative thoughts impacting your wellbeing on a regular basis?
You’re not alone. The human brain will wander from one idea to another until you take control of it.
In the short term, negative thoughts hamper your productivity and focus. Prolonged unhelpful thoughts contribute to chronic stress. Research has shown this can contribute to long-term physical health problems such as cardiovascular issues, weakened immune function, digestive problems, and sleep disturbances. It can also result in psychological issues rooted in anger, anxiety, and depression. Developing a deep insight into how our brain / mind works – and how you can apply this – is a key strength of Solution Focused Hypnotherapy: leaving you uniquely equipped to deal with what life will throw at you. This insight forms the basis of living your best life in the short-term and sustaining your wellbeing for the long term.
If unhelpful thoughts persist and impact your well-being, consider seeking support from someone who can help you replace these cycles with positive habits, guiding you towards living your best life.
The key is to focus your attention on what you choose, recognise your random thoughts for what they are and manage them accordingly.
Should such unhelpful thoughts be impacting on your wellbeing, it may be time to have a chat with someone who can help you replace these vicious cycle with habits that will support you in living your best life. Solution Focused Hypnotherapy is ideal in supporting clients replace those vicious cycle of negative thinking with the virtuous cycle of living your life full of wellbeing.
Submit your review | |