7 Ways to Combat Negative Thoughts with Positivity

Photo by Nick Fewings

Negativity in the atmosphere can affect your productivity and demeanor. To combat negative thoughts, it is important to think positive thoughts and good intentions.

When negative and unsupportive thoughts try to dominate your mind, there is a possibility that your functionality is also affected. Negative thoughts can bring you down as you always question what you can do and influence your mind with anxiety and depression.

Elevate Your Mind to Success: Take Your Thoughts to a Higher Level by Jill Fandrich, PharmD is one of those books to read about personal growth and positive thinking. It is a self-help book that guides its readers into thinking positive thoughts to combat negative thoughts. It allows its readers exemplify the values that are important. The book also provides techniques on how to learn to elevate positive while on the path to success.

Here are ways to combat negative thoughts:

#1 Learn the 2-Column Exercise.

The 2-column exercise allows a person to reassess himself and learn the opposite responses to the negative statements your mind is telling you. This technique allows you to create counterarguments to the negative statements or unhelpful thoughts that haunt you.

So, you need to create two columns. One side should feature the unhelpful or negative thoughts, while the other column should feature the positive counterarguments.

For example:

You can always list as many unhelpful thoughts and negate their hold upon you with positive thoughts.

#2 Depower Negativity with Real-World Evidences.

Negative thoughts will make you feel weak in all aspects of life, including your talents, worth, and integrity. You need to find evidence in the real world to determine whether these are true. Here, you are your own lawyer or hero. Combat negative thoughts by looking into your life. Moreover, you can fill your space with only the most positive ideas to strengthen yourself when looking for evidence for negativity. You can depower negative thoughts by discovering that the negative evidence is not true. If the evidence is true, find other evidence that should depower the unhelpful thoughts. Think good thoughts!

#3 Practice Self-compassion.

To effectively combat negative thoughts, you have to be more compassionate about yourself. Giving yourself a positive treatment allows you to dissolve the negative thoughts that haunt you. Sometimes, when we are alone, we have negative thoughts about ourselves. With self-compassion, you get to learn more about the nature of this voice. Be more kind to yourself and keep saying you can do the things you are pursuing.

#4 Identify the Person to Call to.

When you think of negative thoughts, you must know their root cause. So, who told you you’re not enough? Is this statement factual? Combat the negative thoughts with the strength of your circle. You always have a designated friend or person to talk to when dealing with a certain matter in life. Talk to them and let their positivity fill the void inside you, freeing you from the grips of negativity.

Photo by Matheus Ferrero

#5 Ask Yourself.

Self-talking allows you to reevaluate yourself and the things that you do. When negative thoughts come in, allow yourself to reassess.

• Would I say this to another person?
• Would I say this to a child?
• Would I let someone say this to the young?

Your imagination is strong. If a negative thought can bring you down easily, you have to know that you can always combat negative thoughts with positive thinking. Relate the situations with real-world scenarios where compassion and goodness prevail.

Related: How to Elevate Your Mind: Fantastic Tips to Mindfully Live

#6 Accept Your Flaws.

Sometimes, the negative thoughts can help you with growth. These allow you to seek more experiences that let you become a better individual. As a person, you have flaws that may be used by your mind’s negativity against you. By being kinder to yourself, you can embrace your flaws and accept the truth.

So, you failed your auditions… what did you learn from the experience?

You encountered a difficult test… what are the things you need to improve for the next test?

With this, you can find a way to hone your skills and divert your trajectory to a better direction.

Photo by Noah Naf

#7 Seek Professional Help. Go to Therapy.

When the negative thoughts are already affecting your mental health and functionality as a person, seek help from professionals. Some of these thoughts might be rooted in your childhood trauma. Yes, there are times that you will find it hard to combat negative thoughts. But never fret! Other people can help you. There are professionals who spent years perfecting their ways to help people in need.