Developing positive mental health is essential for daily living. It will help you in every aspect of your life; such as in your home life, work life as well as social life. You already know that right, because that is why you are reading this article. What you want to know is. How do I replace my negative thoughts with positive thoughts?
For a start you will need to stop calling them, 'my negative thoughts', you could replace it with 'that negative thought' do not take ownership of them, and start taking ownership of your positive thoughts.
Mental Health
So to help you to be able to do this, I have compiled a list of 5 things you can do that will help you defeat these negative thoughts, and turn them into positive ones.
1. Take your thoughts captive. What do I mean by this? Firstly you need to start to think about what you are thinking about. Realize that you have control over what you think. You need to catch yourself thinking negative thoughts, and replace them with a more positive perspective that fits with your particular situation. Imagine you have a problem with road rage, and someone cuts you off; now take a look at your usual reaction to this situation. What usually goes through your mind? I bet it is something like, that person could have killed me, can't they drive, why don't you look where you are going you Idiot. Am I right? We need to look at the truth of the situation not just the facts. What do I mean by this? The "fact" is they cut you off but the "truth" is no one was hurt.
I used to suffer road rage, when ever any one cut me off I would yell rant and rave. One day I was driving and an old woman cut me off. I went into my usual tirade of verbal abuse, because it had become a habit, and suddenly it occurred to me, "who am I affecting by yelling at the other cars. That person is blissfully unaware that they just cut me off. Who am I hurting" it occurred to me the only person that I was hurting was me so I thought "well at least no one was hurt, and I get to see my family again" I practiced this in my mind several times a day, and the next time someone cut me off I felt my anger begin to rise, and because I had practiced it in my mind it was easier to control how I reacted. It took about three months till I finally gained victory over these thoughts but now someone cuts me off and I do not even react.
2. Rehearse and Practice: Along with taking your thoughts captive and replace them with a positive perspectives, you will need to begin to rehearse them in your mind as often as you can. Remember to look at the truth of the matter not the facts. The practice and rehearse aspect is the most important part of gaining victory over negative thoughts. You cannot successfully replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts until you break the habits that have plagued your thoughts for years. Rehearse the positive perspective with the situation that occurs in a regular basis.
3. Think of situations that usually cause you to become negative, and replace them with a positive perspective before it happen. This will prepare you to react more appropriately the next time that negative situation comes up again. Continue to practice the positive thought three to five times per day. That way when that negative situation comes up you will know the best way to react. Obviously you will not be able to think of every scenario that gets you angry, but once you do start the process you will find as you get better at doing this, it will have an overflow effect in other areas. But if you find that you have reacted really well a number of times then you accidentally blow it, it is alright, do not beat yourself up about it just remember this can happen, and it is just your old habits trying to creep in. Do not give up just because it happened a couple of times, just practice the positive perspective more often until you can think of it automatically.
4. What if you think negative thoughts about someone close to you? For example your husband or wife, and it's destroying your relationship with that person. Well you need to find something positive about that person, and think about that. Think about how to do something nice for them that you know they will appreciate. Because even if that person does not appreciate it at first, and if you continue to do nice things for them you will begin to feel better about yourself. Think about what first attracted you to them. What was it that you first liked about them? Begin to think positive thoughts even if it is something as small as you like the way the person wears their hair, or you like the clothes they are wearing. Regardless of what it is just think something positive about them. You will begin to see them in a fresh light
5. Do not beat yourself up if you blow it occasionally just get back on the horse and continue to do it. Developing positive mental health does not happen overnight. You are going to have to make it a long-term commitment, in fact, finding the positive perspective will probably have to be a life time commitment. But do not worry it does get easier as time goes on.
If you follow these tips on a daily basis you will find that you whole life will change and you will find that more people will begin to like you because you are now walking in a positive mental health. Remember take your thoughts captive i.e. think about what you are thinking about. Recognise the truth not the facts, and think about the truth of the matter, rehearse and practice the positive thoughts and perspective and make them the new habit in your thought life. Try and think of something positive about other people even if it is something little. and most importantly do not beat yourself up or give up if you blow it because everyone does occasionally. if you remember these 5 tips you will be well on your way to having positive mental health.
Positive Mental Health - 5 Tips On How To Replace Negative Thoughts With Positive Thoughts
No comments:
Post a Comment