Too much thought

  Today I am going to talk about how thoughts block life. I was searching on the internet and came across a very interesting article. Let me tell you that it was really not easy to find, but I think you will like it. 

7 ways to live a fuller life

It is a fact that we spend a lot of time in our minds. We think about ourselves, others and the world. We reflect on past events and plan for the future. The problem arises when much of our thoughts are negative and black-eyed. We associate events with a negative outcome, we look for the culprits, we may be afraid or perpetually pessimistic. Negative thoughts play a big role in the quality of our lives, preventing us from enjoying new experiences, dulling our focus on what is important and, last but not least, draining us emotionally. Negative thoughts can make us feel anxious and depressed and make us feel that we are not really happy in life.

"Negative thoughts are beliefs about oneself, others or the world that are characterised by negative expectations and perceptions associated with negative emotions and behaviours. Such attitudes have a detrimental effect on the mind, preventing optimism in life."

But the good news is that with a little practice, you can replace negative thinking patterns with positive ones and change the quality of your life in general. Here are seven effective ways to live more optimistically and fully.

1. Identify negative thoughts

It may sound strange, but some people don't even recognise negativity in themselves because they may have had this attitude since they were young (perhaps it's part of a family pattern) or because they have become bitter as a result of difficult life experiences. So, first of all, we need to look within ourselves and ask ourselves how we view life. Do we always expect a bad outcome? Do we always seem to dwell on negative things? There are many such ways of thinking, namely:

- Black and white thinking: this way of thinking is characterised by seeing things only in extremes: either something is good or bad, there is nothing in between;

- filtering: in this case, we always see only the negative side of a situation, even though there are many positive things;

- catastrophic expectations: we always assume the worst possible outcome;

- personalisation: we always assume that it is our fault that something goes wrong or that someone behaves negatively towards us, when in reality that person is just having a bad day and it has nothing to do with us.

2. The challenge of negative thinking

Whenever you find yourself thinking negative and distorted thoughts, ask yourself why you have been sucked into the negative side again? Have you always been unlucky in relationships, have you been badly hurt by someone important, have you ever faced a major business failure in your life? It is true that some events have a strong emotional impact on us, but this should not mean that they take away your confidence and faith in yourself. Don't blame yourself for bad experiences and instead think about other possible positive outcomes and reasons why something will work out positively, in your favour and above all the way you hope.

3. Too much judging and comparing

We are all always judging ourselves and others, often quite unconsciously. We may compare ourselves or our lives with those we imagine to have perfect lives, to be successful, popular, happy. Otherwise, it may be the other way around - we are always belittling others, glorifying ourselves and seeing in others mainly the negative side. In this way, we cannot build constructive relationships, because in the first case we feel less worthy and in the second case we feel more worthy. It is important to deal as little as possible with others and as much as possible with ourselves. Your life is yours and yours alone, so do not direct your energy where it has no meaning.

4. Are you grateful?

Research shows that feeling grateful also has a strong impact on feelings of satisfaction and happiness in life. People who know how to be grateful for all they have and experience cope much more constructively with stressful events or periods in their lives. Even when things don't go as planned, it is good to think of things to be grateful for that we don't often think about. Some people find it helpful to keep a gratitude journal to acknowledge all the valuable relationships and achievements.

5. Focus on your strengths

The more you hold on to the unfortunate circumstances you may be in, the negative experiences of the past and the misconceptions you may have about yourself, the harder it will be to get on in life. I'm sure you know the saying that it's all in the head - and it's true. We are the 'culprits' of how we feel, how we see the world, what we attract into our lives. That is why it is so important to be able to find the bright side of ourselves that we can be proud of. By having a positive outlook, you will attract all the good things into your life.

6. If you can't go on

Sometimes difficult childhood experiences affect us so much that we keep going round and round in a cycle of failure, disappointment, sadness and disappointment. In such cases, it is much better to seek professional help to gradually unlearn patterns and ways of behaving, thinking and feeling. Everything is solvable, if only we decide that we want to live differently.

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