How To Stop Thinking Negatively: 10 Powerful Techniques

We all experience negative thinking from time to time, but is your negativity constantly dragging you down and preventing you from living life to the fullest? Below I will share with you 10 Powerful Techniques to help you stop thinking negatively. These techniques have really helped me overcome my own negative thinking and also the negativity of those around me.

1. Get busy with an activity you love to do:

When you’re having constant negative thinking and you recognize that your negative thoughts are bringing you down, get busy doing an activity you love! The activity can be anything from cooking, drawing, playing an instrument, painting, baking, working out, etc. The trick is to occupy your mind with the activity, so your mind won’t have the opportunity to generate a negative thought. 

2. Tell yourself that “it’s just a thought”:

Are you having constant negative thoughts? Remind yourself that thoughts are not facts and that they’re not meaningful, so don’t take them so seriously. At the end of the day a thought is just a thought, it’s the power you give it that makes it affect you. If you start thinking that your negative thought is a reality, then you’re giving it the power to destroy you. No one has control over every thought that pops up in their head, if it’s negative you have the power to ignore it and go on about your day!

3. Surround yourself with positive people: 

This technique is one of the most powerful because you might not realize it but the energy of other people can greatly affect your overall mood. Negative people will only bring more negativity into your life. Meanwhile, positive people will give you encouragement, support, and positive influence and will applaud your victories. They’ll also push you through the hard times and make you realize your worth. Remember that you have the power to choose the types of people that you want in your life, so choose wisely! 

4. Tell yourself to stop: 

Practice acknowledging your negative thinking and telling yourself to stop. Negative thoughts are often recurring, but if you’re aware and put a stop to them they will vanish immediately. We’re ourselves biggest critics, and if you’re telling yourself something you would never say to a good friend or loved one, put a stop to it immediately! It also helps to say the word “STOP” out loud or picture a huge bright red stop sign.

5. Replace the negative with the positive: 

Having a negative thought? Try replacing that one negative thought with three positive ones. For example, a negative thought might be “I ate a cookie today, I will never be able to meet my goal”. Now for this negative thought, you can replace it with “One setback is okay, I can still get on track”, then follow up with two more positive thoughts. Negative thoughts are our own worst enemies, so it’s important to focus on the positives. A positive thought will applaud you for all the accomplishments you’ve made so far. 

6. Stop making yourself a victim: 

Playing the victim role is easy and can make you feel quite good for a while, but staying sorry for yourself is not the answer! When you’re in that victim role, you get into that mindset that things will never change and you have accepted that. Playing victim will only make you more miserable and let me tell you nobody likes a victim. When you make yourself the victim, you deep down somehow expect that someone else will drag you out of it. But the only one that can drag you out, is you honey! To get out of that miserable victim role practice thinking positive thoughts and use self-care to encourage yourself.

 7. Listen to positive songs: 

I am a believer that music is very powerful! Music has the power to change your mood and even get you singing and dancing. Listening to positive songs can immediately change the way you perceive the world and your current situation. When you’re feeling down and you’re having negative thoughts, play some music as a form of telling your negativity to go away. Not only does it boost happiness, but it’s also an effective way of therapy that helps you relax and calm down your anxiety.

8. Read positivity quotes: 

Another great way to stop thinking negatively is to read positive thoughts. This step is great if you’re having trouble coming up with your own positive thoughts. I recommend creating a positivity board on Pinterest that you can always resort to when you’re feeling down, or check out my own here! I also recommend writing down your favorite quotes on sticky notes and sticking them in places where you know you will come across them on your daily day such as the fridge, computer desk at work, the mirror, nightstand, etc. Here are a few of my favorite positivity quotes: 

• “The only place where your dreams become impossible is in your own thinking.” – Robert H Shuller
• “A negative mind will never give you a positive life” – Buddha
• “Fall seven times and stand up eight.” – Anonymous
• “If you choose, you can be joyful every moment of your life. It’s time you made your choice.” – Sadhguru

9. Practice yoga or meditation: 

Mediation and yoga are great ways to ease your mind and help you stop thinking negatively. They also help you focus on your breathing and with each breath, you are releasing all those negative thoughts and built-up stress. I remember the first time I tried yoga, after finishing I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders! If you’re new to yoga and meditation, no worries there are plenty of YouTube videos for beginner yoga and meditation. Just make sure you’re outside or in a quiet space. You will find that yoga and meditation will greatly help you find inner peace and positivity. 

10. Write and Destroy: 

Negative thinking is often linked to bad emotions like anger, fear, jealousy, or envy, try writing down all those negative thoughts on a sheet of paper. Once written down, dig deep into your emotions and write more about your fears and where your anger stems from. Now that you have them all written down, choose the way you want to destroy the paper. You can tear it up, scribble all over it, ball it up, or my personal favorite burn it! This technique helps you get rid of all that negativity in a physical and symbolic way. 

Were these techniques helpful? If so, let me know which one is your favorite in the comments section below 😊.  Do you have another technique to stop thinking negatively, feel free to share it down below! ❤️