It’s hard to maintain positive thinking when stressful thoughts show up.
You can be having a great day, and all of a sudden a stressful thought pops into your mind:
“I’m afraid I’ll get sick because I’ve been exposed to the flu.”
“What if the hurricane comes and we can’t leave?”
“I always get lost when I’m in a new place.”
“What will happen if I get laid off?”
Thoughts like these are quite normal, but when we repeat them over in our minds they can cause tremendous amounts of overwhelming stress. Until now, you might have thought that you can’t do anything about them. You might even feel that you are doomed to repeat these negative thoughts.
When you have thoughts about the things you have no control over, it’s easy to change them into positive or neutral thoughts when you know how.
Here is an easy and effective way to change your thinking from stressful to positive thinking.
How To Increase Positive Thinking
STEP 1:
- Think about one of your most frequent negative thoughts. This would be a thought about something you have no control over, such as the stock market tanking, severe weather, or global warming. It might even be a worry about someone saying or doing something that is out of your control.
STEP 2:
- Write that negative thought on a piece of paper.
- Then, think of what the opposite of that thought might be. This will be a thought that will make you feel better and calmer – a thought that has the possibility of being true.
- Write your new calm thought next to your fear thought.
Fear Thought: “I’m afraid I’ll get sick because I’ve been exposed to the flu.”
Calm Thought: “I like the idea that I am healthy and feel great.”
Fear Thought: “What if the hurricane comes and we lose power?”
Calm Thought: “I like the idea that we are safe and sound.”
Fear Thought: “What will happen if I get laid off?”
Calm Thought: “I like the idea that everything works out.”
STEP 3:
Every time you notice you have your “fear thought”, take a DEEP BREATH and intentionally replace it by saying your calm, positive thought.
In the beginning you might find yourself doing this a few times a day – or even dozens of times. The more you practice positive thinking, the better you’ll feel.
NOTE: You will notice an improvement in your thoughts the first day!
Practice positive thinking every day and you’ll get better at it pretty quickly.
Live in the Philadelphia area or suburbs? Learn more and enroll today in the one day hands on fun workshop Powerful Thinking on Purpose
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