Want to overcome negativity? This post is exactly about what you are looking for.

But before that, I want to tell you a story about my friend Sarah. She is really a nice person but when it comes to being a pessimist and an overthinker, no one can defeat her. One day, she was telling me about how stupid she can be, and here’s how it starts.

It started around 12:18 pm. On a normal day at the office, she was working on her presentation. It wasn’t the time for the lunch break yet, but she started to feel hungry already. A picture of a fried and crispy chicken sandwich came to her mind and now she was craving to have it. She was daydreaming about preparing a sandwich for herself in her kitchen. And suddenly, she looked up at the window and saw that it had been left open. She woke up immediately from her dream and started to think about whether it was true or not. 

She was not sure about it yet. But still, she was thinking negative things like a robber might be waiting outside her home for an opportunity like this. And what if he manages to get into her home? just like in the movie she saw two days ago. She was helpless and couldn’t do anything, instead of thinking about the whole situation over and over again. So guess what she did? She continued to think about it.

!!! ALERT !!!!!!!!!! RED ALERT !!!!!!!!!! WARNING !!!

She was hearing these sounds in her mind. Her heart was beating at the speed of a bullet train. She was all depressed and confused. She self-doubted herself and was saying

“Is it really true? I’ve closed it. Maybe or maybe not”. 

Suddenly she got the idea to call her neighbor, Mrs.Green, to check for the window. So, she did it and found out that the window was perfectly closed. And after finding that everything is OK, she was feeling stupid on her own that she made a thought into a completely useless issue and wasted her time and energy.

Does this happen to you too? Do you too feel the same as Sarah did, when something bad happens to you? Does your mind push you to search for the negative in every situation? 

Here is a quote by Charles R. Swindoll.

“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it”.

It’s only you, who get to choose how to react to something, Good or Bad. So why not, do the right thing. In the post ahead, I’ve mentioned 5 tricks to play with your mind and body to overcome negativity and negative thoughts. It might take some time to develop them at the start. But with time, you get used to it.

Shift your thoughts to overcome negativity

When someone asks you to think about a dog, what you‘re gonna do??? You start to think about a dog. Quite simple. Right?  But what if that same person asks you not to think about a dog, then what are you gonna do? Are you still gonna think about that dog you were thinking of? Surprised? You might say nooo…, I’m not gonna do that. But you do…unconsciously.

This is how the human brain works. It’s the nature of your brain, it keeps on adding and multiplying the stuff you put into it. The brain doesn’t know subtraction and division. This is the reason why you end up thinking the same thing over and over again, it doesn’t matter how much you hate it. In this scenario, what you are doing is, giving your brain negative thoughts to multiply it X times. 

So, don’t try to avoid them. Instead, switch your thoughts to positive. Replace your negative thoughts with positive ones. Change the inputs you are giving to your brain to get amazing outputs. Give your brain something positive to work with. Otherwise, it will pick the most recent activity and start to work with it(which is the negativity, in this case). It’s like playing a song track in a loop on your mobile phone. Change it or it’ll keep playing the same track over and over and over again.

Change your physical state

The physical state of your body makes a huge impact on your mental state. Both these states are interrelated. Yeah… It’s scientifically proven.

You might have noticed how your body reacts and responds, when you are depressed or sad or when something’s bothering you. There is a heaviness in your stomach; your shoulders, and your back slouch. You feel congested in your space, you might not be able to breathe properly sometimes. And unlike that, when you are happy. You feel energized, and joyful and you feel so light that you’d just fly in the sky like a bird. You are in ready-to-go mode and jumping all around.

This is how your body responds to 2 very different emotions. By changing the physical state, you can change your mental state too. 

Whenever you feel negative, change your physical state (if you can). Drink some water. Do some stretching exercises. Try Jumping 5-10 times (or more if you can). Take a deep breath and you are good to go. By doing this, you have given an indication to your brain that, Buddy…everything is fine, everything is good, no need to worry.

Focus on what’s important

When your brain is filled with negativity; it’s gonna suck out all the positivity inside you, like a parasite. You’ll feel stressed out, exhausted, depressed and whatnot. Your brain starts to find negative things in everything and every situation, no matter what. 

Take a deep breath and focus on the things that are important and worth doing. Stop wasting your time and energy on useless things that don’t matter. Your time is the most precious asset you have, you cannot afford to waste it on some stupid thought in your mind. 

Your thoughts are tools that can make and break you. So, choose wisely what thoughts you are gonna have, that gonna serve you in a good way. And if they don’t serve out, leave them right away.

It’s not the worst 

The world is full of people who barely have food to eat and a roof on their heads. You are so blessed that you are not among them. You have everything to lead a comfortable life. 

Your circumstances might not be very good at the moment, but it’s not the worst. You might be saying that “You don’t know what’s going on in my life”. Surely, I don’t know what’s going on in your life but I want you to know this, 

You are always in a better state than someone somewhere on this planet till you have food in your refrigerator, a place to live called Home. You also have people in your life who loves you. 

So, Be patient, don’t worry about it too much. Nothing is permanent in this world, and your problems are too. Stop overthinking about it, give it a break. Everything will be fine. 

Be grateful

Whenever you feel negativity around yourself, think about the things you are grateful for – your parents who love you to the infinity, your lovely kids, your partner who gets you like no one else does, and most importantly be grateful for this beautiful life that God has gifted to you. 

No problem is permanent. It’s the beauty of life, that it never stops. Even if you are going through hell, it’s gonna end someday. 

So instead of thinking about the crap; be grateful and count the blessings you have in your life. Make a habit of writing a journal. Write down all the things you are grateful for. It will help and motivate you to keep going, even in the worst situation.

Conclusion

The mind and body have a purpose. They are for you; to serve you. Your mind is in your control. And your body is in your mind’s. As I’ve written earlier too, your mind and body, are interrelated. There is no rocket science in it, everyone knows it. But think about it. If you know it, It’s just you who is stopping you from executing it. Learn how to trick your brain to get the most out of it and you are good to go. Whatever you want in your life, you can get it. YOU HAVE THE POWER.

Here’s what you should read next-

• How to be happy even when you don’t have a reason
• How to start your Morning to be productive all-day
• 6 ways to find inspiration when you are lost
• How to learn anything you want

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