Negative thinking, reasons for its appearance, ways to overcome it
Thinking is a person’s way of knowing the world around him, which largely determines the quality of our life. In modern psychological science, two types of thinking are conventionally distinguished: positive and negative. This article will discuss the features of negative thinking and how to overcome it. How to overcome such thinking, sooner or later we ask ourselves this question.
The main features of people with negative thinking
A negatively thinking person in his reasoning is based on his personal, in most cases negative experience. He perceives any event as an obstacle to a calm and happy life. Such people try to avoid new events and often suffer from increased levels of anxiety and bad mood.
The thinking of a negative person focuses on negative events and phenomena. It seems that such a person can effortlessly see the negative side in any situation. Such a person perceives life in black, and those around him hardly manage to convince him otherwise.
Such a negative view of things does not look for ways to look at the situation from the other side, does not want to cope with the problem. On the contrary, the goal of such a person is to prove to himself and others why everything is bad. Negative people do not like to change something in their life. At the first unsuccessful attempt, they tend to look for the cause of the mistake in the people or situations around them.
A negatively minded person is prone to pessimism, apathy and bad mood, depression. Such people often attract failure like a magnet. It is not for nothing that they say: “what you dream about is what you get”.
Causes of negative thinking
Try to remember if your thinking has always been negative? Perhaps you were a completely different person before, but due to some life circumstances, your life attitudes have changed.
This view of things arises from the following reasons:
* Negative past experience;
* Fear of possible failure;
* Increased level of anxiety;
* Low self-esteem;
* Lack of self-esteem;
* Overwork;
* Stress;
* Depressive state.
Ways to Deal with Negative Thinking
Choose your surroundings carefully. Connect with smart, creative, and positive people. If you have pessimists, losers, and negative people in your social circle, consider: what example are they showing you? When communicating, there is an exchange of energy between people. Perhaps it is such an environment that empties you internally and deprives you of vitality. After communicating with easy-going and cheerful people, you will no longer want to return to the old company.
Don’t make an elephant out of a fly. If something went wrong in your life or there was a trouble, you should thank this situation for the presented experience and let it go. Perhaps you have only benefited from not getting what you want. Usually, trouble happens before something beautiful is about to enter our lives. For example, if you fail an interview, life doesn’t end there. Most likely, after a while you will receive a more interesting offer. Thoughts like these can help fight negative thinking.
Cut off the excess. We are what surrounds us. If you want to learn to think positively, start small. Remove from your life the things that upset you or cause negative emotions. For example, stop watching television programs about celebrities or soap operas. These shows rarely focus on positive events. As a result, you will have free time that you need to fill by watching funny films, listening to good music, and meeting new people. You can overcome negative thinking if you don’t feed it.
Find the true cause of suffering. Surely you are familiar with the situation when you were really hungry, but then you realized that you are really thirsty. By the same principle, one can understand the true reason for negative thinking. Perhaps, in fact, you suffer from a lack of understanding with your mother and are sad after every unsuccessful conversation or quarrel. Then, being in a bad mood, you negatively color all the events in your life.
A physical way to deal with bad thoughts
The physical way to eliminate this look is based on the negative reinforcement method. This method is as effective as it is difficult, since you will have to constantly monitor your thoughts. Put a thin rubber band around your wrist (usually used to tie bundles of banknotes). As soon as you think of something bad, pull the elastic to the side and release it abruptly. The painful sensation will remind you that you are thinking wrong.
The main secret of success is that if you cannot change the situation, then you need to change your attitude towards it. Positive thinking plays a huge role in this. The development of new attitudes requires constant monitoring of your thoughts, try to notice when you have negative thinking. The result that you get in the end will more than compensate for all your efforts. Make an effort to combat negative thinking, it will definitely help to defeat it.