How can I free myself from negative thoughts?

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How can I free myself from negative thoughts?

Thanks for asking.

According to American neuroscientist Daniel Amen, a specialist in brain imaging, we produce a staggering 60,000 thoughts per day. And believe it or not, 80% of those thoughts are negative. That means we have 48,000 negative thoughts on a daily basis. Sometimes we just can't seem to fight them off, but thankfully there are ways to cope with them. That is a lot of negativity, isn't it? How can we counteract that tendency? There are actually various simple exercises that can help implant more positive thoughts. One such example is keeping a journal or diary. Listing all your negative thoughts helps identify them and understand how your automatic thoughts work. You could create two columns. On the left, write down the negative thoughts, and on the right, write down positive thoughts to counteract them. That way, when a negative thought crosses your mind, you could immediately break the cycle by remembering one of your strengths or qualities. How can we distance ourselves from those negative thoughts? Another tip is actually to ridicule them by taking them to the extreme. The exaggeration technique involves exploring negative scenarios to the extent where even your own brain recognises that you're being ridiculous. Here's an example. Say your boss shows up at work but doesn't say hello to you.

You start worrying and thinking they might be angry with you or dissatisfied with your work. In reality, it's way more likely that they're simply tired or anxious about something else. In that case, you can ridicule your own thoughts by imagining the worst. Not only is your boss angry and dissatisfied with you, actually they hate you. They think you're the worst employee in the whole company. No, the whole world. No one could ever be as bad as you are. They've probably got a voodoo doll of you in their drawer ready to poke with needles. As you can see, the further you go, the more the whole line of thinking seems absurd. The technique will most likely turn your frown upside down.

Any other advice?

It's important to anchor yourself in the present as much as possible. Focus on what you're doing, saying and feeling right now. One tip is to put a small stone in your pocket. When you have a negative thought, grab it and try to be conscious of the thoughts. Are they in the present? Are you thinking about what you're doing? The pebble technique should help you come back to what you're experiencing in the present moment. There you have it.

Now you know how to free yourself from negative thoughts. In under three minutes, we answer your questions and help you understand the true meaning behind the trends, concepts and acronyms that are making headlines. Listen along and you will really know for sure.

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