5 Tips to change Negative thinking

Negative thinking creates an unfair environment. It contributes to depression, anxiety, and other mental and physical health issues. Our thoughts are very subtle and unconscious most of the time yet it has an extreme power to control our whole life. Since our thoughts make and break us, it is important to understand and learn how to think in the right way to be happy and peaceful in life. Below are the 5 tips that you can inculcate to change your negative thought pattern:

1. Identifying your thinking pattern

The first step to change your negative thinking is to identify your thinking pattern. For example, if you tend to view yourself as a total failure because of failing in one single interview then you are "overgeneralizing" yourself. Or, if you are someone who thinks that 'Success only lies in perfection. And the rest is considered as a failure' then you are thinking in terms of "black and white".

In the same way, there are many thought patterns. So first sit down and list the scenarios where you have felt so negative, anxious, or depressed. After writing the scenario, write down the thoughts you were thinking at that time. Now, you will have the list of thought patterns that pull you into depression, anxiety, or overthinking. This way you will identify the exact pattern of your thought.

2. Changing your thought pattern

I am going to be whacky here. This part is hard at the beginning but once you get used to instantly changing your thought pattern, then it will become your life savior.

Here, you will be evaluating and changing your thoughts. For example again, if you are thinking that 'you are a total failure because you just lost an interview' then your thought pattern would be something like "I am a total failure. I am useless. I can't even get into a job. My life is a failure".

Now, you should evaluate the truth in this thought pattern. Evaluating is nothing but posing questions on the intensity of the thought. You can ask questions like "Have I always failed in everything that I did?", "What are the things that I have succeeded in my whole life?", "How is my life going to change because of one failure?", "When are the times I felt confident enough?". You can keep on piling up as many questions as you want. These questions will help you evaluate the truth in the thought you are thinking.

After evaluation, the next step is to change your thought pattern. You have to replace the negative thought with a positive thought. Make sure that you are totally in terms of the positive thought you are replacing with. Do not replace "I am a total failure" with "I am successful". Even though the positive thought seems good, deep down you knew that it is not the truth. Therefore, there will be no use in replacing your negative thought.

The right way to change your negative thought is by replacing it with a positive thought that you completely trust in. You can change your negative thought pattern from, "I am a total failure. I am useless. I can't even get into a job. My life is a failure" to " I have been successful many times. Losing a job does not mean that I lost my entire life. I have been confident enough to face many failures. I am sure to overcome obstacles and make my life even better". In this way, you will trust yourself and pave a way to change your negative thought pattern.

3. Do not ignore negative thoughts

Many people misconceive that changing negative thinking means ignoring the negative thoughts. But the reality is the more you try to avoid negative thoughts, the more your mind will force you to think negative thoughts. This will adversely affect your mental health.

So instead of forcing your negative thoughts out, it is preferable to identify, evaluate and try to change your negative thoughts. If you find it hard to do all this by yourself, then it is good to seek help from a professional therapist.

4. Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness is the practice of detaching yourself from your thoughts and viewing yourself as an observer.

During mindfulness training, you will learn how to view your thoughts and feelings as objects floating past you that you can stop and observe or let pass you by. The objective of mindfulness is to help you gain complete control over your thoughts and emotions.

5. Journaling

Journaling is another effective way to identify and slow down your thoughts. Journaling will give a form to your thoughts through words. Your thoughts are extremely tangled inside your head, journaling will help you untangle those thoughts and slow down the pace of your overthinking. It will also help you to think clearly and make the right choices. Personally, I have got rid of most of my negative thought patterns with the help of journaling. It is an effective tool that has the capability to change your life!