Erase Negativity and enjoy a Positive Life!

“Try giving up all the thoughts that make you feel bad, or even just some of them, and see how doing that changes your life. You don't need negative thoughts. All they have ever given you was a false self that suffers. They are all lies.”
― Gina Lake

Negative thoughts...we all have them, but why?   Habit?   Low self esteem?  Home Environment?  Work Environment?  Self Doubt?

Whatever the reason, they exist, and they exist in each of us to varying degrees.  I laugh because my family knows I do this blog, yet there are times that I will get home from work and just dive in with negativity about stupid things that really don't matter in life. Or, I'll be at work, same thing....something just kicks on that negativity button, and whether it is my inner consciousness talking to me about why I can't do something or my directing the thoughts outward to others.....these thoughts make us feel bad about ourselves, about others, makes those exposed to the behavior feel bad, etc.......No doubt about it, negativity can be a real downer internally and  it places a dark cloud over our relationships with spouses, children, friends and family.

Negative thoughts are not healthy, and we should all practice ways and methods to minimize and eliminate them them from our way of thinking.

I created a list of three simple  things we can do to address and control our exposure and reaction to negative thoughts in our lives.

1)  Many times negative thoughts are self-inflicted-- we need to make a pledge to ourself not to let negative thoughts into our mind, and if they do appear, we need to acknowledge them, be aware of them and banish them or replace them  with positive thoughts...practice willfully taking a negative thought that you encounter frequently and turning it around.

2) Dealing with Negative People:   Many times, if we are in an environment around negative people, we need to be prepared for their perspective before they open their mouth, and train ourselves not to overreact to their comments.  If the barrage is simply too much to take, we need to get away from it...unfortunately, just like positive thoughts breed positive thoughts, negativity breeds negativity.   Did you know that countering a negative with a positive can turn things around almost instantaneously?  Try it, it works really well in a group setting especially if the target is another person.

3) Remember who is in control of our life.  It's not our spouse, our boss, our Mom...it's US!  Our persona is  defined not only by our actions, but also by our reaction to other's actions.  Use that knowledge to create a better self.
  
It's simple really....Positive thoughts allow us to flourish and be happier, whereas negative thoughts will make us feel terrible, depressed and dejected.  Take the following situation as an example: a friend or spouse is preparing themselves for a job interview, and they are self-doubting their abilities....prior to the interview you tell them how positive they are, how great they look, or that you know their abilities will shine in the interview...realize it or not, you've just planted a seed and my bet is they do better in the interview  than if you told them "You're right, you are not qualified, you haven't dressed well enough, you seem depressed"....see the difference? 

Live Positively...there really is no better approach to a happy life!