Positive Thinking Exercises: Start Catching Negative Thoughts
There are a number of positive thinking exercises recommended to anyone who wants to improve the way they think. However, no matter how much you try to think positive, you’ll find it difficult to truly make a change unless you learn to spot those negative thoughts running through your mind.
Why Are Negative Thoughts Important?
The reason why negative thoughts are important is because most of us are used to thinking of them habitually. Like any other habit, we barely notice we’re doing it, and we don’t realize just how destructive those thoughts can be on our lives. In fact, you may even be sitting here thinking that you’re not that negative!
If you stop and think about it carefully, you’ll probably find that you’re being more negative than you realize. These negative thoughts, both big and small, will help to explain the difficulties you may be having in your life.
How Can You Catch Out Negative Thoughts?
First, remember that even small negative thoughts can be destructive. Here are a few examples of thoughts that show you may be looking at things negatively:
- ”I am unlucky”
- ”It’s definitely going to rain today now that I’ve made plans”
- ”I am bound to make a mistake on this project”
- ”I shouldn’t be thinking this way”
- ”I need to spend less money”
Although this is a very small sample, it gives some idea of the wide range of thoughts that come into the negative thinking spectrum. Positive thinking exercises should be designed to reduce these kinds of thoughts before replacing them with more realistic and positive alternatives.
Start Small
Starting small means learning to recognize these thoughts in the beginning. For now, don’t try to change them or stop yourself doing them. Simply become more in tune to your thoughts so that you’re aware that you’re thinking negatively.
For many, recognizing negative thoughts is half the battle. As I mentioned earlier, they are part of a habit, so recognizing the way you’re thinking is the first step towards breaking this habit. If it helps, you can even write down the kinds of thoughts you’re noticing – big or small. This can help you to recognize the ones you tend to think more frequently, and will give you more material to focus on as you progress through more positive thinking exercises.
Positive thinking exercises such as catching your negative thoughts may not sound important at first, but they are more useful than you may realize. It’s only when you truly understand the patterns of your brain that you can start to reroute them towards something more positive.