Negative thoughts will sap your energy and drag you down and, just a single negative thought, can soon snowball into many. If you are a person who seems to see the downside of everything and always takes the negative point of view, read these ten tips on how to overcome negative thoughts and it will help you to finally become the happy person that you want to be.
1. Don’t allow the negative thoughts
Don’t just accept the negative thoughts, take the decision today that negative thoughts are no longer allowed in your mind. When you do feel a negative thought coming on, stop yourself from thinking about it, and promptly recall something pleasant and positive. You can consciously train yourself to stop thinking negatively, if you try.
2. Don’t listen to the pessimists
There are plenty of pessimists in the world and they will want to share their negative thinking with you. Let them be negative, if they want to, that doesn’t mean that you have to agree with them. Recognise pessimists for what they are and don’t pay too much heed to what they have to say.
3. Smile more
Here is another simple tip on how to overcome negative thoughts: stand in front of a mirror and force yourself to smile. It’s a proven fact that a smile, even a forced one, will improve your mood and make you feel more positive. Give it a go, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the results.
4. Keep your mind occupied
An empty mind provides the ideal breeding ground for negativity, so keep yourself occupied and don’t give the negative thoughts space to grow. Put your spare time to something productive and useful, and you will find that you don’t even have the time to think negatively.
5. Help other people
Stop thinking just about yourself and help other people instead. A generous act on your part will increase your own self-worth and it will help you realise that other people have problems too. Finding out that you are able to help others will also remind you that you could help yourself too.
6. Try and modify the words that you use
Another tip on how to overcome negative thoughts is to modify the words that you use. Think about how you phrase your thoughts in your own mind and try to change the tone of your thinking. For example, both the phrase ‘this will be tough’, and ‘this will be a challenge’, mean the same things, but a challenge is far more positive than something that will be tough.
7. Three positive thoughts will kill a negative one
When you are feeling low and negative thoughts are beginning to invade your mind, put a stop to the negative ones by reminding yourself of three positive things in your life. Three optimistic and happy thoughts will easily swamp the negative one, and will help to re-balance your mood. Count your blessings and smile!
8. Hang out with uplifting and positive people
Your friends can have a big influence on your thinking too. So our next tip on how to overcome negative thoughts is to seek out positive, happy people to hang out with and talk to them, if you are struggling with a problem. An optimistic person might well be able to give you the advice that you need and be able to help you put things back into perspective.
9. Learn to express your gratitude
Another tip on how to overcome negative thoughts is to learn to express your gratitude. When the negative thoughts begin to snowball in your mind then bring them to a halt by writing down just five things that you have to be grateful for. These could be anything, from being grateful for the friends and family that you have, to the vacation that you have coming up soon. Remind yourself that the negative things in your life are outweighed by the positive ones, by being grateful for what you have.
10. Always remember that no one is perfect
Most negative feelings are brought about by a lack of self-confidence and by feelings of inadequacy. Remember though, absolutely no one on this planet is perfect and you are no different from anyone else. Everyone one makes mistakes and everyone goes through tough times. The only difference is that the happy and positive people don’t dwell on their past mistakes and they accept that they cannot, ever, be perfect. They can only be perfect at being themselves.
How to overcome negative thoughts? How to become happy? What are your best tips?
Stay happy!
