Spear thistle and blackberry leaves.
How to Turn Off
Negative Thoughts in Your Mind
Rita Schulte
Barring psychological illness, we are all largely
responsible for our own emotional health
and well-being. What does that mean? That what we say to
ourselves over and over for days,
weeks, months, and sometimes years, has a dramatic effect
on how we see ourselves.
This also contributes to many of the mental health
disorders we see rampant today:
what we choose to have continually playing in our brains
stays there, and there’s a real problem when we start buying into the
negative thoughts we have about ourselves.
I discovered how powerful the effect of conditioning is
firsthand when I was listening to
some oldies the other day on the radio—I was amazed at
how quickly I could belt out the words
to songs I hadn’t heard in decades. How could I remember
all those lyrics from so long ago?
Because I was conditioned by them. I listened and sang
those words day in and day out
for what seemed like forever, until they were burned into
my brain cells, and some of those
old songs even provoked strong feelings in me as I took a
quick trip down memory lane.
The mind is a powerful thing, and in a nanosecond,
it can elevate or crush our mood because of the beliefs
lurking behind our feelings.
If you think I’m kidding, try it yourself: think of an
old song, or even the lyrics to one
of your favorite television shows.
Those of us who are old enough can belt out the opening
line to The Beverly Hillbillies in our sleep.
So, what does all this have to do with our emotional
health? Everything.
Many of us have problems with negative thoughts playing
on the channel of our minds,
but if you’re engaging in it consistently, and you believe it,
it could be eroding your sense of
self-esteem. Here are a few beliefs that indicate you may
need to switch the station:
I’m a loser
I’m not good enough
I don’t deserve….
No one likes me
I suck at relationships
I’m a failure
Negative thoughts conjures up bad feelings and hooks you
into believing
that what those old tapes in your head are playing is
actually true.
In short, it brings your focus to your failures, and that
gets you nowhere.
What can you do?
Here are some suggestions:
Notice when that same old song starts playing, and switch
the channel
Self-talk is so subtle that we often don’t notice its
effect on our mood and belief systems—
as previously noted, one song can conjure up an entire
series of thoughts and memories.
Key things to notice are “if only or “what if” statements:
the former keep you stuck in the past
with regret, while the latter keep you fearful of the
future. There is nothing you can do about
the past, and the future isn’t here yet, so stay in the
present moment.
Visualize the good things
Three scoops of ice cream: chocolate, vanilla,
strawberry. Fresh crushed pineapple and strawberries, warm luscious hot fudge.
Ripe sweet banana. Fresh whipped cream and a juicy red cherry.
Get the drift? By now, you’re not only thinking of
the banana split, you can taste it.
If we want to change the negative tapes playing in our
heads, we have to visualize ourselves positively—that means seeing yourself
non-judgmentally. Picture accepting yourself.
How would that look? Draw a picture in your mind and
expand on it.
Recognize that actions always follow beliefs
Whatever you believe, you’ll experience more of, and
you’ll also find yourself behaving in ways
that are congruent with your beliefs. So, start believing
the best about yourself:
act as if you believe that you’re a valuable and worthy
person.
Pay attention to triggers
Triggers are anything that can start the old tapes
playing.
If a certain person is a trigger for you, set boundaries
with them.
Develop positive counter statements to refute negative self-talk
Instead of always putting yourself down in your head,
think of some things
you actually like about yourself. What are your
strengths, what are you good at?
Developing counterstatements requires you have some
degree of belief in their veracity.
Keep your counterstatements in the here-and-now, instead
of saying “I’m not good enough”
try saying, “I am capable. I’m good at ______. I accept
myself the way I am.”
Thinking poorly about ourselves gets us nowhere and is
extremely self-limiting.
Decide today to turn off the negative self-talk channel
in your mind and develop your true potential.
Back at you: If you’ve struggled with negative thoughts,
how did you overcome it and go on to reach your full
potential?
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/how-to-turn-off-negative-thoughts-in-your-mind.html
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just for fun.
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