How many thoughts does an average person think each day? It has been said that we have between 50,000 – 70,000 thoughts per day. Which averages to between 35 and 48 thoughts per minute. Even more astounding and according to some research, as many as 98 percent of our thoughts are exactly the same as the day before and 80 percent of our thoughts are negative.
Negative thoughts are terribly draining. This
could be part of the reason why your so exhausted at the end of each day. Thoughts
containing words like “never,” “should,” and “can’t,” complaints, whining or
thoughts that diminish our own or another’s sense of self-worth deplete the
body. This is supported by scientific research but I won’t go into that here. The
good news is, if you can recognize a toxic, negative or limiting thought, you
can consciously choose to change it.
A few tips to combat negative thoughts:
1. Stop thinking in extremes
Life is not always black or white. Sometimes there is a
little gray. Everything is not completely this or that. However, negative
thinking tends to view bad stuff in the extreme. For example: rather than
thinking I’m nervous about this performance, we think things like, I’m
terrible, I’m going to mess this up, they are going to hate me.
All or nothing thinking misses out the
subtle shades in life. It makes us see the future in terms of dramatic disasters,
failures, and catastrophes. Most of life consists of shades of gray.
An important tip to overcoming negative
thinking isn't to 'just be positive' all of a sudden, but to look for shades of
gray. Instead of thinking " Everyone will hate me after this performance" think" I'm prepared and I'm going to do my best. Not everyone will love my performance but that is to be expected."
2. Remember the positive
Negative thinking stops people from seeing the positives in
life. Magnifying setbacks and minimizing successes leads to de-motivation and
unhappiness.
Get into the habit of seeing setbacks as temporary and
specific rather than as permanent and universal. We all tend to find what we
look for. The positive is there but you have to
look for it.
3. Stop making stuff up
and believing it
Imagination is a wonderful gift from God. Looking
at an upcoming event in your mind and negatively hypnotizing yourself by
vividly imagining the worst is a bad idea and your likely to get just what you’ve
imagined. Your imagination is there as a tool to be used constructively. By
practicing imagining things going well, making it more likely, you'll be calmer
in the situation and it will be a much better use of your time..
Stopping negative thinking
takes time and effort, and to an extent it's a job that's never done.
But using these tips along with a few of your own will help combat the habit of
negative thinking. I’d love to hear your tips to combat negative thinking.
Please leave your tips and thoughts below.
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