Your mind churns out over 30,000 thoughts each day – it’s a veritable thought factory. It doesn’t seem to matter how hard you try to tame them, those thoughts just keep coming.
It can feel as though you are being held prisoner, constantly bombarded, sabotaging yourself.
While there are those thoughts that make you feel amazing, there are even more than seem to push those positive thoughts aside to take over with their negativity.
No one wants to be plagued by negative thoughts, yet so many of us are affected by them.
So, the real question is – how can you clear your mind of these unwanted thoughts?
How to Capture Your Peace of Mind
Your Body Language
Believe it or not, your body language can affect your thoughts. Take note of yours now – is your default position a slouch and a frown? Then, you’re more than likely a negative thinker. It can impact your self-image and affect your confidence. So, stand up straight and don’t be afraid to smile more often. It will make you feel better.
Don’t Push It Away
Now that you’re paying attention to your thoughts you will naturally try to push away the negative ones that crop up. Don’t do that, though, because it will simply come back to haunt you at another date. Process the thought without judgment or acknowledgment and dismiss it to set yourself free. Restricting it won’t help you, it hasn’t so far, has it?
Talk Therapy
There is nothing better than talking through your negative thoughts and emotions. A lot of the time you experience these types of thoughts is because there is an emotion or an underlying issue that you really need to get out.
It’s not always healthy to keep it yourself, so, find a close friend and talk through those negative thoughts that are plaguing you. It allows you the opportunity to put things in perspective, which makes it far easier to deal with the root problem.
Take a Minute
When your mind is racing with thoughts it can be a challenge to keep up, it’s like a hamster on a wheel. So, take a minute to calm it all down – it’s much like a short meditation session, sitting quietly to clear your mind and replace each negative thought with a more positive one.
Change the Tone
Your negative thoughts may be down to your inability to get perspective. If you constantly look at your difficulties as obstacles, rather than challenges, or instead of finding a solution to a problem you dwell on it. It’s all about changing the tone of those thoughts and putting a positive spin on them. It can make a big difference to your thought patterns.
Exercise Your Creativity
When negative thoughts come calling, try to work them out through your creativity. What outlet do you prefer? Do you love painting or drawing? Are you a writer? Is it the piano or another musical instrument that allows you to get out of yourself?
It really doesn’t matter what creative outlet you prefer; the important thing is that you have an outlet that lets you push the negativity away by working through it. It’s a form of therapy and can immediately give your mood a boost. Exercising your creativity is like providing all of your emotions with the release they have been desperately looking for.
Walk It Off
The thoughts that your mind creates aren’t always formed in your mind alone. Often, your thoughts stem from your environment. So, if you are always surrounded by negativity (whether it’s the people you spend time with or the four walls you are surrounded by) then it makes sense that you will experience negative thoughts.
So, shaking off the shackles of your environment and taking a walk can help your thought patterns immensely. You can take a long walk through the park or even stroll through a museum. It doesn’t really matter where you take your walk, as long as it allows you to put some distance between yourself and the environment that has been fueling your negative thoughts.
Gratitude
It’s easy to lose sight of everything you have to be grateful for, so sometimes taking a time out to look at all of the amazing things your life has to offer is a way to beat the negativity.
You’re so caught up in the rat race that you’ve lost focus and listing things you’re grateful for is an excellent way to re-train your brain to focus on the positive instead of getting hung up on all the negatives. It doesn’t matter how small something seems if you’re grateful for it list it off (whether it’s in your head or you write a physical list).
