Our minds are wont to play tricks on us, even when we ask politely for it to stop. And while we all have bad days, sometimes it feels like the world is singling you out, raining on your parade, making it really hard to be your usual, positive self. The mind is powerful, butyou have the power to change your mind, the way you react to things and how you choose to view both opportunities and setbacks. It can be a challenge to harness this control on those dreary days when it seems like everything that could go wrong does go wrong. So we’ve put together a few ways for how you can stop negative thoughts before they start.
Know Your Triggers
The topic of triggers can be loaded, but we won’t get all socially political right now. What we mean by triggers in this context is what things, people, or situations set you off to be a Negative Nancy? Sometimes it’s really silly things that get us going–things that are completely out of our control. But if you know what it is that ticks you off, then you have the power to wrangle in your negative thoughts before they spiral out of control.
Notice Your Reactions
Let’s be honest, it’s not very flattering to recognize your green monster. But as soon as you acknowledge her (it?) then you can start to make changes. For example, if you find you always target your sister when you’re in a bad mood, take a step back to assess why that might be, and what you can do to stop that behaviour. It’s hard at first to take a good look at ugly habits and reactions, but from dirt grows beauty.
Be Willing to Change
This is a big one. You can do tons of work to recognize your reactions, and dramatic tendencies, but if you’re not willing to change, you’re going to keep attracting negative energy and the cycle will continue on. In order to stop your negative thoughts, you have to let go of all the negativity and be open to let positivity in. There are times when you get really deep into the negativity pit and it’s a struggle to climb your way out. But staying in that pit will just bring more pain and make it harder to get out later on.
Surround Yourself with Positive Influences
Just as negativity attracts negativity, positivity attracts...well, you get it. If you’re feeling prone to negative thoughts, try surrounding yourself with things and people that make you happy. When you put yourself in a room with a bunch of fun-loving, positive people, it’s going to be hard to have a bad time.
