If negative thoughts are allowed to grow then they can come to plague our minds. It can sometimes seem like everything deserves our scrutiny, and like nothing is positive. What we need to understand is that our thoughts are not some hapless process that occur randomly and which we have no control over. On the contrary we can train our minds to think in a more positive way, and this often results in more positivity in our lives.
When we feel negative, and think negatively, we miss opportunity, we ignore happiness and positive signals, and we perpetuate our own negative loop. When we think positively we see all of the positive signals, are better at omitting negative ones, and we live in a world that is ultimately more enjoyable. What we must recognize is that this is a choice, although it may demand some work and awareness from us.
Negative thoughts can arise around our life situation, other people, or about ourselves. We can think negatively when it comes to just about anything, and a negative mind will find flaw in even the most perfect of sunrises. In a negative mind even the beauty of a rising sun can be too bright, too cold, or too early. Make the choice to think positively, and you will experience a more playful, joyous, and growth-full experience of life
The best way to eliminate negative thoughts is to think more positively, but sometimes in order to do that we need to first identify areas in which we have inclinations to be negative. Some people will find that they are very critical towards themselves, whereas others might find the same source of negativity reoccurs consistently in a job for example, or around a certain person.
Negative thoughts do have a purpose and can help guide us towards a better life. So first things first, which negative thoughts are useful? Allow me to illustrate. You continually have negative body image thoughts. This can mean one of two things; either you are genuinely unhappy and want to make changes, or you are thinking in a faulty manner and wouldn’t be happy even if something was different.
In the first case the thoughts are there to direct you towards change, better health maybe. As soon as positive change is implemented positive thoughts will resume, and positive and negative thoughts will act as guidance throughout; when you feel you are on target or making changes, you think positively, when you are not making the changes that need to be made, you think negatively. Consider carefully the source of your negative thinking and whether it calls for genuine action.
In the second case the negative thinking is not a result of any real need for change, and is more likely the result of faulty wiring in thinking. A simple rewiring job should do the trick. Negative thinking can build up from experiences and views of the past. Whatever it may be it is important to begin to become aware of the patterns that send you into a negative mindstate. When you begin to see these patterns more clearly it will be possible to identify why the reaction occurs, by contemplating the reaction deeply. When we see the cause of our negative thought in this way it is easier to develop an understanding that eventually leads back to positive thought.
The easiest way to free yourself from negative thought is to think positively. When we begin to think negatively we become stubborn about the positive. Give it up and be willing to smile again! Allow the people around you to bring you up, instead of trying to bring them down. Make positive observations. Make a conscious effort to notice the good traits in the people around you, the love that is everywhere on display in subtle ways, and the aspects of yourself that you enjoy. Make a list of all the good ideas, all the good acts that you see, all of the humanity. Take a trip into nature to contemplate the simplistic, yet complex beauty of the planet we inhabit. Gaze at the stars and realize the scale of your problems.
Meditation can be a big help in freeing up our minds from negative thought. During meditation we get past the negativity and self-centered nature of the ego and into a realm of peace. From here we can see the wholeness of the situation. We understand that even though everything is not good, it is not all bad. We see that it is both and that we are free to choose.
So make a choice to think positively. A better life will come of it.
