Some wounds are external. Even though they can cause sharp, stinging pain, bleed, and get really messy. The good thing about these wounds is that they are pretty straightforward to detect and treat.
Sometimes all you need is a little disinfectant, and other times you need some plaster, a cast, and six months—but at the end of the day, you know when you’re hurt, and you know how to heal it.
And then you’re good to go.
But then there are some wounds that aren’t all that easy to detect or treat. They cause constant damage, take years for you to even take notice, get worse over time, and even then are often left untreated.
These are our internal wounds—or emotional wounds.
Negative thinking patterns manifest as a result of such wounds. These patterns can make life seem dull and bleary, take the light away from our otherwise bright days, and can make us anticipate everything going wrong by making us completely ignore all the positive aspects.
If this has started to read a little bit like your situation, we’re glad you found this blog! Here, we’re going to break down some ways to break free from your negative thinking patterns, center your life around positivity, and, well, smile more!
Let’s take a look at these methods one by one.
1- Try talking to the negative thought—quite literally
Yes, we mean it.
The first step to breaking free from negative thinking patterns is to recognize and acknowledge their presence. Ignoring these thoughts or sinking into the black hole doesn’t heal them, it only makes them worse by solidifying the patterns in your mind.
It’s pretty much the same as external wounds—you need to acknowledge that it’s there to start the treatment, and ignoring it will only make it more prone to infection.
Notice when your negative thoughts occur—or occur most. You may come to realize that you perceive things more negatively when you’re hungry, tired, emotionally distressed, or other such situations.
If you’ve already made that realization, you’re off to a great start!
If you haven’t, here’s what might help: every time you feel a negative thought come up, ask your mind, ‘I notice a negative thought, why is it here? Could it just be a story I’m telling myself? Is it really all that true?”
This alone is pretty helpful in breaking the pattern because instead of ignoring the thought or riding its wave, you’re simply acknowledging it—which itself is a positive change.
2- Setting the mood with incense
See here’s what we say, joy is like fairy dust—it rubs off a little bit on everyone who comes into contact with it. You’ll find it to be true when you think about it.
Ever been with a group of happy people having a great time and felt your own mood lift a little bit? Got a friend you always go to when you’re down because just being around them makes you feel better? You could even have a favourite YouTuber you always turn to to calm your nerves.
If you could think of people like that in your life as you read this, you’ve already experienced the impact of your company!
This means that a great way to break out of negative thinking patterns, would simply be spending time with people that make you feel happy.
On a side note though, the opposite is also true. Where positive people make your own light shine brighter, negative people can also make your mind feel like you’re staring in a horror movie.
This doesn’t mean that people with negative thinking patterns are bad. It just means that maybe they need a little help too.
So maybe you could copy the link of this blog post and send it to them to help them make a healthy change in their lives too!
3- Burst your own bubbles—understand that nothing will ever be perfect
Another common way we sabotage our own self is by expecting everything to be perfect all the time, even though logically, we know that perfect isn’t achievable.
A great way to ground our visions and expectations is to base them on reality, instead of perfection. For example, if you were really looking forward to starting a business this year, or buying a house, or getting married—but were unable to, you can always focus your mind on the fact that one year doesn’t really make a lot of difference, and that you can always re-evaluate your plan and course of action and strive to fulfil these goals next year.
Life will always throw curveballs at you, but that doesn’t mean that things you set out to achieve aren’t going to happen. Curveballs only mean a twist in the incredible tale you’re building—which sometimes even makes things more interesting!
So the next time you’re looking forward to something but catch yourself dwelling on everything that can go wrong, interrupt your thoughts by saying,
“Well, so what, look at everything that can go right!”.
4- A wholesome morning routine can go a long way!
Ever noticed that when you wake up grumpy in the morning, the whole day sort of takes on that vibe?
Suddenly the bristles of your toothbrush start sticking into your gums, your favourite pair of socks seem to have mysteriously disappeared, you forget to mention all the good stuff about your project at work to your boss, and before you know it, you’ve pissed off 10 colleagues, two different coffee baristas, and your partner by 3 in the afternoon.
No prize cookies for finding this relatable.
This happens because the first few thoughts that you think when you wake up set the tone for the kind of thoughts you’re going to have all day—which will in turn determine the quality of the day you’re going to have.
To make sure you have a great day, try developing a positive morning routine. Things like reading something positive when you wake up, journaling, listening to soft, soothing music, or even meditating are great ways to start the day on a good note.
Negative thinking patterns can suck, but we hope you found something that works for you in this post.
As a parting takeaway from this blog, here’s a quote by Tony Robbins;
Tony Robbins“if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.”
To change the way your life is going, it’s important to make the necessary changes within ourselves.
Don’t know where to start? Join us at our power-packed conference featuring top industry leaders using their experience and expertise to empower you with tools and techniques designed to help you create your own breakthroughs.
Sign up here.
Good luck and have a great day!
