Everybody deals with thoughts that they don’t like. Here’s my three best tips for dealing with negative thoughts:
- Don’t take thoughts seriously
Where thoughts come from, we do not know. What we do know is that we have very limited control over the thoughts we think. If I tell you: DON’T think of a pink elephant. Ehh.. well you just did. So thoughts are not something we can completely control.
Next to that, thoughts are also not what we are. We are only watching thoughts unfold in our mind, we are only the watcher.
Since we have no idea where thoughts come from yet, we don’t have to take the content of the thought seriously.
2. Don’t get angry or irritated by your thoughts.
Because you cannot control thoughts, getting angry about a thought that pops into your mind, only makes things worse. Try not to be affected by your thoughts, only notice them.
3. Don’t give your thoughts more power.
Thoughts can be powerful if you give them power, thoughts can also be weak if you give them no power.
You give thoughts power by thinking more about them in any way, whether that is resisting the thought or it is cheering on the thought, it doesn’t matter. If you give the thought more attention, it will get stronger.
So, don’t talk about the thought, don’t dwell on it, don’t counter-think it by stating the positive opposite: just let go of the thought. You can do that by thinking other thoughts or distracting yourself.
Conclusion
We all think negative thoughts, relax, don’t take the thought seriously, try not to get angry or irritated by the thought, just notice it. And whatever you do, do not give the thought more attention.
Kees Blok is a Certified Coach & Teacher, Coaching People in Amsterdam and Remotely to Reduce Stress and Improve Flow through Meditation, Nonduality and Coaching.
