How to Stop Negative Thinking and Think Positive

If you have read about the law of attraction, you have already come across this topic. Negative thinking is toxic for your wellbeing and for your family. Thinking negatively can hit your social life, your career, and even your physical and mental health. Some people grow up with this mindset and start to believe change is impossible, that it is simply who they are.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Changing those thoughts is possible. It will not be the easiest thing you ever do, but it will not be the hardest either. The most important part is wanting that change. Wanting to raise the quality of your thoughts means raising the quality of your life. Why not try?

1- Thought stopping

When you notice negative thoughts or images starting to enter your mind, try saying “STOP!”. If you are alone, you can say it out loud or even shout it. It can also be very effective when you say it inside your head.

There are more direct approaches to stopping the thought as well. For example, you can try the classic tactic of splashing cold water on your face or simply redirecting your attention. Some people like counting backward from 100 to 1.

2- Positive affirmation

Positive affirmations can be used in different ways. First, they can work the same way as the thought-stopping technique: you can say an affirmation the moment you feel a negative thought approaching.

Beyond that, saying affirmations daily begins to rewire your thinking. Craft your affirmations carefully and try to make eye contact with yourself in the mirror when you recite them.

3- Set boundaries

Spend at least a couple of weeks setting firm limits around negative thinking. The idea is to choose a fixed, limited window of time when you allow your mind to have negative thoughts, and commit to stopping or challenging them at every other moment of the week.

When you know you will have dedicated time later to consider those thoughts, they often feel less powerful and less likely to take over your mind. Gradually you will find you no longer have enough negative thoughts to fill that reserved slot.

4- Write it and destroy it

The goal of this technique is simply to create a physical representation of your negativity so you can eliminate it in a satisfying symbolic way. You can write, paint, sculpt, or draw your negativity and then destroy it however you choose: burn it, tear it up, flush it down the toilet.

5- Internal reasoning

You can try reasoning with yourself when you feel yourself spiraling into negativity. This technique involves finding a short phrase you can recite to acknowledge that you have power over your body’s responses and to strengthen that power over time.

These techniques matter because they work for most people. Personally I have used the first and the fifth a lot. An extra bonus is meditation. Meditation relaxes you and boosts endorphins in your brain, which makes you happier and, as a result, more positive.