How to control negative thoughts and stay positive

Our mood, confidence, and way of looking at life are often surprised by thoughts we do not want. An inner voice of self-determination, fear of the future, or an account of past mistakes – our inner dialogue is the most influential in shaping our reality. The great news is that you can turn these evil thoughts into good ones and maintain a positive mind with a few easy-to-implement aids and everyday mental habits.

This article will teach us the most efficient ways of developing a positive way of thinking, which comes directly from professionals in the field and based on scientific facts. We will also give you real stories, reflective questions, and simple exercises as examples so you can understand better how to form a more positive, stronger, and happier mental state.

Understanding positive thinking and self-talk

Positive thinking does not mean that you avoid the unpleasant aspects of life. Instead, it means that you face negativity positively and constructively. You believe that the best will come and not the worst.

When you start thinking positively, you often begin to use self-communicative language. The term self-communicative language, in your case, refers to the untold thoughts that keep coming to your mind. Any thoughts hitting your mind can be positive or negative. According to logic and reason, you have different kinds of self-take. On the contrary, other types of self-talk result from misunderstandings established from incorrect knowledge or expectations led by often preformed ideas of future events.

If the thoughts that you keep in your head are mainly negative, you are more likely to be a pessimist in your life view. On the other hand, if your thoughts are mostly positive, you are quite possibly an optimist — a person who uses positive thinking.

The health benefits of positive thinking

Researchers are still in the process of discovering the benefits that positive thinking and optimism have on health. Many health benefits come with positive thinking. They include:

• Life span increase
• Depression rates decrease
• Distress and pain levels decrease
• The immune system is stronger
• Lesser chances of death from cancer

Identifying negative thinking

Filtering: You enlarge the downsides of your situation and omit all the positives. In other words, you had a good day at work. You were early to finish all your assignments and praised for your quick and efficient work. At night, you only care about the new tasks you must do and don’t even remember the good things you said about yourself.

Personalizing: When something unfavorable happens, you think it is your fault. For instance, you are told that the evening spent with friends will be a failure, and you guess that the reason for the change in the programmed is that no one liked you.

Blaming: You always try to blame somebody else instead of yourself and thus avoid being in charge of your thoughts and emotions.

Perfectionism. Not being able to achieve more perfect standards and attempting to reach the impossible is a way to set yourself up for defeat.

Focusing on positive thinking

Yes, it is possible to change your negative thoughts to positive thoughts. The process requires you to be patient, and you need to start by doing it slightly and then continue as it is a habit you are developing. Here are some ways to become a more optimistic thinker and doer:

Unveil the areas you want to modify. Areas such as work, routine getting to work, life changes or a love relationship are the areas that usually come first to your mind and are addressed negatively. However, you can start with something small by changing your attitude to one aspect. For instance, think of a positive notion that will help you cope with stress instead of thinking about something that upsets you with the family.

Do a quick check on yourself. Throughout your day, take some time and check what exactly is going on in your mind. If you notice that you have negative feelings, you can find a way to see things in a better light.

Follow a healthy lifestyle

Maintain some form of physical exercise for around 30 minutes most days a week. You can divide it into 5- or 10-minute sections throughout your day. A workout is a good enhancer for mood and stress reducer as well. A well-balanced diet is providing all the necessary nutrients. Additionally, one must get plenty of sleep, practice relaxation techniques, and avoid stress.

One of the best things you can do for your health is to reduce the time you are under stress. Surround yourself with positive people. Allow only the positive and supportive to be a part of your inner circle who can help you and provide guidance and advice. People with a generally negative disposition will bring about the resistance of your stress power to cope and make you believe that you are not able to manage stress healthily.

Be your own best fan. The first step in trading negative talk for positive one is the guideline: If you wouldn’t say it to anyone else, don’t say it to yourself. Talk to yourself like you would talk to a good friend, and be kind to yourself. If a negative thought comes around, challenge it and replace it with positive affirmations about your worth. Focus on the things that you have that bring you joy and satisfaction.

Your mind has a lot of power. With consistent efforts, self-compassion, and appropriate aid, you can quit giving negativity the upper hand and start creating your life with purpose and positivity.

Be aware that it’s not the point of completely removing a negative thought from the mind, but more about how quickly you confront it, doubt it and decide on a stronger one.