Overcome Negative Thoughts – Learn English to Live Better

Overcome negative thoughts

Overcome negative thoughts – practice listening with a podcast and reading with selected passages on stopping negativity – Learn English to Live Better series on LELB Society

Physically Throw Them Away

It may sound crazy, but clearing your head of a nagging thought could be as easy as writing it down on a piece of paper—and tossing it in the trash, according to a 2012 Ohio State University study. People who wrote down negative things about their bodies and then threw them away had a more positive self image a few minutes later, compared to those who kept the papers with them. “However you tag your thoughts—as trash or as worthy of protection—seems to make a difference in how you use those thoughts,” says study co-author and psychology professor Richard Petty, PhD. Don’t want to waste paper? Doing this exercise on the computer, by dragging a text document into the “trash can,” worked too.

Source: https://www.happify.com/

Now it’s time to find an alternative to your original thought

You have your evidence for both sides, so now it’s time to be a judge. A helpful tip is to act as if you’re judging the thought of a friend rather than your own thought.

Now, you can find an alternative, more balanced thought. This new thought will consider all of the evidence for and against you and give your wiser mind a shot at running the show.

For instance:

“I have made mistakes, but in general I work very hard.”

“I’m genuinely trying my best.”

“I’ve gotten good feedback so far and my manager trusts me to do this.”

Reminder: Everything can be broken down into smaller, more manageable tasks. Find a place where you can pause and check-in with your thoughts to see where in the process you may be able to give yourself a break.

Source: https://www.healthline.com/

Release your judgment

It’s just the reality of being a human that we all make assumptions, have biases, and make judgments of others based on our experiences. It’s one of the foundations for phenomena like stereotyping and discrimination. But this comparing of ourselves to others can also serve as a method through which we put ourselves down.

When we set goals for ourselves, we tend to look at people who have already accomplished those goals. We look and think about how much better they are than us. Why they were able to achieve that goal and why we never will be able to. These negative thoughts rush in and drag us down.

So try to let go of these types of judgments where you compare yourself to others. You’ll feel free when you finally achieve this.

The best way I’ve found to do this is to begin reflecting more consciously on your thinking. Recognize where this negative thinking stems from within you, what stereotypes, assumptions, and biases you are allowing to generate these negative thoughts in your life. Then find ways to alter this line of thinking.

Source: https://www.lifehack.org/

An example of thought-stopping

Here’s an example of how thought-stopping might work:

You’re worried about a presentation you are giving at work later in the day. You’re prepared. You know you’re ready. But you can’t stop worrying about it. You imagine making a mistake.

When you start to think of yourself stumbling over words, you say “Stop” quietly in your mind. You get up and move around, or you snap your rubber band as you say “Stop.” Then you think of something pleasant to take your mind off the thought—such as a trip you are planning to take or a movie you saw recently that made you laugh.

Source: https://www.uofmhealth.org/