Negative thoughts

By Ethan Musolini

Sometimes negative thoughts will creep into your mind. But you know they are not your friends. They are dangerous. Very costly if entertained for long because you wouldn’t want what is negative to be realised in your life.

The question then is, how should you deal with them? Here are a couple of thoughts.
Acknowledge
When a negative thought pops up, instead of fighting with it which may keep it around, you acknowledge it. How? “Oh, thank you for sharing. I acknowledge you. I see you. And for now, I am not interested. Good bye”. It’s smoother and doesn’t require a lot of energy like the part of debating.
Chase them
This is where you use a lot of your will. It takes more energy than the former tactic but it also works. How? Just say “Stop” and then think about something else. Option two is to say “Go away!” emphatically.
Reminder of what you want
I learned this a few months ago. Here goes; a thought that you do not desire is a reminder of what you actually want. In essence, you thank the same though of reminding you what you actually want. You look at it as a collaborator rather than an enemy. When it flows through your mind, just say “Oh, that’s a reminder that I actually want XYZ”.
“What do I want?” pause
Related to the above - just pause in between and ask yourself “What do I really want?” In other words, any negative thought becomes a trigger to pause and reflect on what you really want. An ally to revise your desired future.