7 Ways to Stop Negative Thoughts from Getting You Down

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Transcription:

I came across this adorable little infographic which I’m going to include in the blog post, be sure the check it out. And it’s about how to keep negative thoughts from getting YOU down.

The Things That Trip People Up

Now this is something that’s always been very interesting to me because I meet people all the time who are frustrated, they have a BAD experience, or somebody SAYS something or they don’t know what to do next and quite frankly, it happens to me all the time.

Maybe I won’t say all the time, but quite regularly, I get OVERWHELMED, I feel like, “Maybe I’m not cut out for this”, or “Why did she say that?” Or, “Am I MISSING out on something? Should I get involved in this?” “Oh wow, how did they get such a wonderful opportunity and I am missing out.”

[shareable cite=”Abe Stone”]Negative thoughts naturally come in so many ways, but we don’t have to yield to them.[/shareable]

The thoughts, they come in so many different ways and the point is, those NEGATIVE thoughts are just a NATURAL part of what happens to us, it’s the way the mind works. I think it’s some sort of a self-defense mechanism, it’s always trying to kind of find its place in the hierarchy of things or something, I’m not sure exactly what it is.

But the fact is we can do something about those negative thoughts, we don’t have to yield to them and they don’t need to control or guide OUR LIVES. We can work with them and in fact they can move us into good things if we learn how to recognize them and react well to them.

[shareable cite=”Abe Stone”]You can learn how to recognize negative thoughts and react well to them. [/shareable]

So I want to leave you with seven quick tips on how to keep negative thoughts from getting you down. And you can check out the rest of them on this infographic on the website. (at the end of this article)

1. Don’t resist it.

Okay? Don’t fight it, don’t try to say, “Stop! Stop! Stop!” No, just say “Thank you for sharing.” Talk to your mind, talk back to it because that’s your mind that’s very active with those thoughts and it’s trying to warn you of something. I don’t know, it has some misguided perception of what you need to know and what you need to hear.

And just LISTEN to it and say “Thank you for sharing.” Because, when you stop resisting it, it gives up, it stops pushing it on you.

[shareable cite=”Abe Stone”]When you stop resisting negative thoughts, your mind gives up pushing them on you. [/shareable]

2. Change Your Physiology

This is a really great one and it’s actually a very easy and practical way and that is change your PHYSIOLOGY. Do something as simple as sit UP, take DEEP breaths, stand up really STRONG and tall if you are in a standing environment, LIFT your head up, just a simple change, SMILE.

I mean really, these simple changes in our body do a lot to change the way that the mind is working because it changes the way that the neurons are firing and it can move you from a negative mood to a positive MOOD very very quickly.

3. Try Journaling

I mentioned this in a recent blog post about handling difficulties with people, and that is, try JOURNALING.

5 Journaling Benefits You May Want to Experience

 

Give yourself some time either it’s in your mornings or you take a break once a day in the middle of the day to kind of hash out the difficult things that you are facing and just to write them all out. And you will find that that will do a lot to just get them out of the way so they are not bothering you and weighing you down.

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4. Meditate

I think that this one has a lot of merit and I would recommend that you do it at least once a day. And you can try to fit it in when you’re facing the situation where you need to clear out of those negative thoughts, and that is MEDITATE. Okay, take time to just be still, clear your mind and relax your body and meditate.

[shareable cite=”Abe Stone”]Be still. Clear your mind. Relax your body. MEDITATE. #quote [/shareable]

I have a post on this and you can check it out and learn how to meditate, if you’re not sure exactly what to do or how it works.

How to Start Meditating Using the Release Technique

5. Do Something Positive

Get busy DOING something positive. Go help someone with something else that they need done or find something that you really enjoy doing.

Just shift out, shift away from the environment where you sort of started thinking negatively and move over into a new place, a new activity, something that’s going to get your mind off of your worries, off of your fears, off whatever it is that’s getting you down.

6. Listen to Uplifting Music

This is a really easy one and I think a lot of us, we just forget about it.

Put on some good tunes, pull out your iPhone, put your headphones in, put some loudspeakers on in the house, dance around the house, listen to MUSIC, upbeat music that’s going to get you out of that and get you on to a different thought process and a different mood.

7. Take a Short Break Outside

I might be repeating myself, I had this one listed separately on my notes here, and that is sometimes you just need to GET OUT of the house, get far away from your environment, Whatever it is that’s got you down, even if you can only afford a five or ten minute BREAKS.

Sometimes you need to get out of your office, just to get up and walk out, get some fresh air, maybe get a cup of coffee, just do something that will completely shift your focus.

I think this is different than getting involved with other people or helping someone out, which I mentioned earlier. It really is something about just moving away from the situation.

Sometimes you even just need a day break, you just need to say look, I need some time off, I need to work out something, I need to handle something.

And there you go, seven tips to stop negative thinking from getting you down.

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All right, now here is your quote for today,

[shareable cite=”Joel Osteen”text=”When the negative thoughts come, it’s not enough to just not dwell on it, replace them with a positive thought. J. O. #quote”]When the negative thoughts come, and they will, they come to all of us, it’s not enough to just not dwell on it, you’ve got to replace them with a positive thought. #quote[/shareable]

And here’s your affirmation for today, put it by your bed, sit in the morning when you get up at least three times, say it in the evening when you go to bed, three times again.

[shareable cite=”Abe Stone”]I enjoy thinking positively and it just feels natural. #affirmation[/shareable]