How To Overcome Negative Thought Patterns

There are times when one may be feeling very serene, and completely at peace with ourselves and the world. One may even be feeling highly satisfied with the spiritual growth and personal healing you have accomplished thus far. Then, quite unexpectedly, you lose your sense of alignment. You suddenly feel ‘disconnected’ from the source of our being.

This feeling is especially triggered when one feels overwhelmed by life’s responsibilities, or the constant demands of others. And once we slip into this negative state of mind, many deeply buried, unpleasant memories tend to emerge in our consciousness in the form of haunting ‘flashbacks.’

I recently heard a friend referring to this experience as cognitive distortion. We can so easily begin to catastrophize, and expect the ‘other shoe to drop,’ once our anxiety level becomes this amplified. The mind is powerful and under these circumstances we tend to indulge in a lot of ‘what if’ thinking. The mind races, imagining all the worst case scenarios as potential outcomes.

This kind of catastrophic thinking typically takes our mind into two directions. Firstly, it puts a truly negative spin on the current situation. And secondly, it causes us to anticipate all the many, many things that could possibly go wrong in the future.

Polarized thinking is another problem for some of us. This thought pattern is when we only see things in terms of right or wrong, and this can  lead to setting unachievable standards for ourselves and others, as well as send our stress levels through the roof! Polarized thinking crops up when we find ourselves basing our hopes and expectations on, for example, getting that dream job, impressing other people, finding our soulmate, becoming famous, and so on.

The first thing I built inside of me to be able to face the day with enthusiasm was to create as many positive thoughts as possible ~ Merry Triana

A friend was talking to me the other day about tragedies and triumphs in her life, and how she felt that most of her personal experiences fell somewhere in between. She doesn’t feel that any particular failure or success can determine her future success, but rather that she will decide for herself that she is happy – no matter what.

She feels that we tend to minimalize our own achievements and efforts, and so she found that acknowledging her progress on a daily basis, by making a note of this at bedtime, has helped her tremendously. Rather than take any negative aspect of a situation and blow it out of proportion, she immediately tries to look for a positive, in order that her vision of reality doesn’t become distorted or darkened.

If we are mindful of our negative thought patterns, our intuition will alert us to the fact that we’ve fallen into one of our habitual ‘mind traps.’ Breaking this destructive cycle can be challenging, but there are steps we can take to acknowledge what is happening and various tools that can assist us in stopping the process from getting out of control.

The following are a few simple strategies to overcome negative thought patterns and reconnect to the tranquil source of your being.

Start by doing some breathwork. Yes, focusing on your breathing is a wonderful way to instantly bring your focus back to the ‘now’, and to help quiet the mind. There are various tried-and-tested breathing techniques. Personally, I like to breathe in to the count of five, hold my breath for the count of five, and then breathe out to the count of five. Try this next time your thoughts are working overtime!

Next, write down exactly what happened, or what is going on. What are those negative thoughts racing through your mind? Did a situation, or other person, seem instrumental in triggering your anxiety? What was your reaction? Have you had these thoughts before? Writing it down in rational, logical terms helps one to gain greater clarity and a much more objective perspective.

For some people, negative thinking is a habit, which in line with the passage of time will turn into an addiction. Like diseases, such as alcoholism, excessive eating, or drug addiction ~ Peter McWilliams

Ask yourself what exactly it is that is upsetting you about the situation. Remember, just because you suddenly think something, doesn’t necessarily mean that this thought is true. Ask yourself if your thoughts are helping you, and if they are actually realistic.

Also, remind yourself that in hindsight, when you have experienced anxiety in the past, your fears were usually unfounded. The things we unnecessarily worry about, or even fear the most, usually never happens. Ask yourself what could be the worst case scenario that could come out of this situation that is currently intruding on your serenity. The worst case scenario is unlikely to unfold.

Furthermore, acknowledge your own growth. You can gauge this by looking back to where you were at a month, a year, or even decades ago. In hindsight, look at what you  have already dealt with to date… and, you are still standing!

Finally, a routine of daily spiritual practice can be very helpful in keeping one calm, grounded and centered. It can fortify you against habitual negative thinking. Spiritual practice can be as simple as starting every day with just a few minutes of meditation or prayer in the morning, or keeping a gratitude journal before going to sleep at night. Use any possible technique or strategy at your disposal to re-route your thinking. You will soon find that you are probably overreacting and jumping to conclusions, based on past conditioning of expecting the other shoe to drop.