“Be vigilant; guard your mind against negative thoughts.” ~Buddha
There are thousands of quotes, books, articles and blogs about the tremendous power of positive thinking and the dangers of negative thinking. The entire medical community has proven that negative thinking is not good for anyone – it simply serves no purpose in life.
Do you think you know all there is to know about negative thinking? Might want to think again….
There are many types of negative thinking that come in various forms; worry, anxiety, stress, depression and fear. Negative thinking can span from generalized everyday worry, being critical and judgmental of others, self doubt, fear of the future, to distorted catastrophic thoughts. Here are some examples of negative thinking.
• Worry – One of the more common forms of negative thinking and one that can lead to long term damage. Occasional worry about a single event is perfectly normal. If the worry is targeted at something specific and has and end date, then it’s most likely harmless because the event will pass and the worry will be over.
• Judgmental and Critical Thoughts – Everyone is judgmental and critical. This is negative thinking – and you might not even know that you do this. When we judge or are critical of others, our minds are in a state of negative behavior. This is simply not healthy.
• Self-doubt – When you are critical of yourself or you doubt your abilities, you are making negative judgments that put your mind in a state of negative reflection. When this judgment is happening, your mind takes off and wanders into other areas that continue with further self doubt, which can lead to self-loathing, a terrible condition that can cause long term health problems.
• Anxiety – While more common today, anxiety is widespread in our society. Poor health, family concerns, traveling, money problems, work related issues and clinical fears can all be known as General Anxiety Disorder (GAD). This is often treated with drugs and many times leads to other more debilitating illness and disorders.
• Stress – A common form of negative thinking. Stress is related to both external and internal factors. External factors can include your job, your relationships with others, your home, and all the situations, challenges, difficulties and expectations you're confronted with on a daily basis. Internal factors determine your body's ability to respond to, and deal with, the external stress-inducing factors. Internal factors which influence your ability to handle stress include your nutritional status, overall health and fitness levels, emotional well-being, and the amount of sleep or rest you get.
• Depression – This is one of the most diagnosed illnesses. It’s my personal belief that depression is something that starts out as a controllable process – but if not treated early, the sufferer can move into a state of clinical depression which might be treated with prescription drugs.
• Fear of the Future; Dread of the Past – This kind of negative thinking is perhaps the most destructive. When people do not practice being in the present moment, they lose out on the joy we were meant to live in. We cannot change what has already happened, so dwelling on what has passed serves no purpose. Many times we have no control over what is going to happen in the future, yet we worry about what might or might not happen. The only space we should be in (at all times) is the now. Being in the present moment provides you with the ability to make the best choices for how you want to live your life.
• Distorted Catastrophic Thoughts – This negative thinking can dominate someone’s life to the point that they have no life at all. Distorted, negative thoughts take on a life of their own and can zap any hope of a joy-filled life. Anyone that suffers from this dangerous form of negative thinking lives in a “what if” world. The process is called “spiraling” and it is something that starts off as a small, insignificant negative thought. The sufferer then goes into a thought pattern of “what if” and that small insignificant negative thought manifests itself into a catastrophic event that causes the suffer to become paralyzed with fear.
When we allow our minds to be in any of these states for a prolonged period of time, we cause internal and external damage not only to our lives but the lives of our loved ones.
Our minds are so powerful - we can allow our thoughts to take control of our body and our mind and worry ourselves from a mild concern to a full frenzy in a matter of minutes. Why does this happen? It happens because we lose control of our thoughts and we ALLOW the negative thinking to get in front of us. When the negative thinking becomes a habit, a pattern develops and we lose the ability to control our thoughts. Many of us have unconsciously created a negative thinking habit.
There is a solution to identifying and erasing negative thinking – and you can train yourself to control, and get in front of negative thoughts. The challenge is remembering to perform continual “self-checks” throughout the day to examine what state your mind is in and then correct any negative thinking right away. You may need something to help you remember to perform a “self-check” and train your mind to accept only positive thinking!
Solution: the meaning to pause® bracelet. This bracelet gently and privately vibrates every 90 minutes with a friendly reminder to be mindful of your daily intention of erasing negative thinking and replacing those thoughts with powerful positive thinking! This simple and inexpensive bracelet holds the key to keeping you focused on your thoughts – all day long. This really works and I am speaking from experience! The bracelet was created to help me pause, examine my thinking and then erase any negative thoughts by replacing them with positive reinforcement. It solves the problem perfectly!
LIVE WITH INTENTION – CHOOSE TO LIVE A POSITIVE LIFE!
