I’ve been writing a lot about thoughts, controlling them, and the idea that the ones you give the most attention to are the ones that affect you the most.
Read: The Power of Thought
I’m going to be honest with you, letting go isn’t easy. Negative thoughts are typically the thoughts that get the most attention and as I said in the post linked to above, the thoughts that get the most attention are the thoughts that have the most power over you. What makes it worse is that one negative thought leads to another end then another, daisy chaining from one thought to the next in a downward spiral of fear, grief, anger and worse yet, apathy.
Typically a negative thought chain can look something like this:
That person I’m attracted to didn’t acknowledge me when I said good morning; they must not like me. Maybe they noticed the extra weight I put on. I shouldn’t have eaten that whole container of ice cream. I have no willpower at all. I’m so fat.
On top of that, I don’t have that good of a job. No wonder nobody is interested in me. I should grab some more ice cream on the way home.
Do you see how that works? We’re all guilty of it. We’ve all fallen down the negative thought rabbit hole and guess what? There is no Wonder Land at the bottom; only broken dreams, despair, and missed opportunities.
[click_to_tweet tweet=”We’ve all fallen down the negative thought rabbit hole and guess what? There is no Wonder Land at the bottom; only broken dreams, despair, and missed opportunities.” quote=”We’ve all fallen down the negative thought rabbit hole and guess what? There is no Wonder Land at the bottom; only broken dreams, despair, and missed opportunities.”]
Tip #1: Resisting is power. If you want to stop the negative thought chain, you can’t just resist them. Resistance is a form of power. To resist means to add thought fuel to your already raging negative thoughts. You have to learn how to release them. There are many different methods, called release techniques, that can be used. The most well known is probably the Sedona Method. With the Sedona Method, you don’t resist your thoughts, you just let them be and then ask yourself three questions.
- Could I let this go?
- Would I let this go?
- When will I let this go?
Sounds simple but that’s why it’s so powerful. I encourage you to dig into it or another release technique.
Tip #2: Your negative thoughts have a root cause. Is it your weight? Your relationship? Your job? Whatever it is that is causing you emotional angst needs to be addressed. Don’t be afraid to filter out of your life those things that are holding you back both physically and emotionally.
I understand that this can be hard, especially if it’s a person that needs to be filtered but much like some thoughts need to be released for your mental well being, there will be people that need the same treatment. Are there people in your life now that take away from your mental health? If so, take away their power to do so. Many times this includes excluding them from your life altogether.
Tip #3: Show gratitude. Be thankful for the good things in your life. Give power to your healthy thoughts by being gracious towards the things that make you happy. There are a lot of different studies that show the power of gratitude. Spend time thinking on the things that bring you the most joy. Meditate on them. Be mindful of how they impact your well-being. These are the thoughts you want tumbling around in your head. What are you if not the sum of what you’re thinking about?
Bonus Tip
Don’t say that I’m not a giver. The title of this post promised three tips, but you’re going to get four! Who doesn’t like bonuses?
When taking on anything new in life ask yourself these three questions:
- Will this take away from my emotional wellbeing?
- Is it worth it?
- What will this accomplish?
Question number two is significant because sometimes we must temporarily sacrifice our emotional wellbeing for others. If it’s not worth it still consider answering question three, as it will help with your perspective.
Is there anything in your life that needs letting go of? What emotional baggage is holding you back from being the absolute best version of yourself? What can you do to remedy that?
