How to eliminate negative thoughts?
How often have you experienced an interaction, a conversation or an incident that affects you by putting unpleasant and negative thoughts into your mind? It gets into your head and can keep you fixated on the negative experience for a long time. There is no doubt that you know you need to clear your mind of those negative thoughts to enjoy your life fully. It is impossible to have enjoyment and peace of mind with negative and fearful thoughts floating around in your head. The difficulty is knowing how to get rid of them.
Your thoughts come from past experiences which we call “Karma”. Your mind creates memories that become desires or an imagination running wild resulting in Karma. This is often referred to as the soul’s journey through cosmic time.
It is important to recognize that you are not a prisoner of your thoughts. I am speaking of the thoughts that you are not consciously generating. It is the subconscious ones that you are unaware of occupying space inside your head. Negative narratives are playing in our minds without us knowing. So where do our thoughts come from?
It’s easy to maintain positive thoughts when everything is going well and your day is bright. But the question is how do you maintain those positive thoughts when you are in a terrible situation or you have slipped into a deep dark place? How do you remain positive and move forward?
1. The first step is to eliminate negative thoughts by recognizing and becoming aware of them and determining what it is that's creating them? Whenever you feel stressed, worried or overwhelmed, ask yourself, “What am I thinking about right now and how am I feeling?” Soon you will come to realize the association of your negative thoughts with a situation or event that you might not have been aware of before.
Once you have identified the sources, make a list of all the negative thoughts that you are having for the coming 3 days. Identify them and begin to notice them. Awareness is the first step.
2. The second step is to create habits that will help you reshape the pattern of your negative thought, by doing affirmations. At the time you are observing your negative thoughts, replace them with affirmations like:
“I’m worthy”
"All is well”
“Everything will be alright”
“I use memories but I do not let memories to use me”
Here is an Indian Proverb I love that reinforces the importance of using affirmations!
"Using positive affirmation will help you to move from being a victim to be a creator. Instead of keeping the negative thoughts you will create new possibilities in your mind."
Five to ten minutes of affirmations in the morning will be helpful to eliminate your negative thoughts.
Another tool is meditation which is all about quieting the mind and shutting off the chit chatter in your head.
3. The third step is to surround yourself with positive people rather than pessimistic and/or negative ones. If you allow the external forces of everybody else’s energy to enter into your consciousness, it can really bring you down.
“God, I move and breathe and have my being.” Says Oprah Winfrey when she speaks about how she managed not to let the media or any other external forces penetrate her thoughts.
Constantly remind yourself that what’s going on out in the world is exactly that, “What’s going on out in the world” and not in yours. Those are other people’s problems, observations and opinions’ which do not reflect upon who you are. Don't confuse the two. When we surround ourselves with positive people, we clear away the negativity that exists around us and create more room to welcome nurturing and renewed energy. Doing this not only enriches our lives, but we become immersed into a supportive and healing space that fosters greater growth, understanding, and a love of ourselves. We also gain a greater awareness of the emotions of those we care about.
There is an African saying: “I remember the past and I learn from it, I rejoice and celebrate in the present and I re-imagine the future. “
This is a very thought provoking and beautiful statement that recognizes we can become victims of our thoughts and our past.
Remember; Life is too short to let yourself and your mind be dragged down by negativity. Live in the present and not the past and enjoy your life.
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