How to Quickly Move Through Negative Thoughts

Every single person thinks negative thoughts.

It’s part of being a human who has a brain.

In fact, we are more prone to thinking negative thoughts than positive thoughts.

There is an evolutionary reason behind this.

Back in the caveman days, humans learned to notice negative features in the environment before positive features. For example, cavemen learned to be more hypervigilant watching for a saber tooth tiger who was hiding in the bushes rather than watching for missing berries on a bush. You can see that the consequences of missing something negative in his environment were much more dire than missing the positive aspect of berries.

Over time, this hyper focus on the negative aspect of our environment and focusing on ‘what could go wrong’ has developed into what Psychology calls a Negativity Bias. That is, we tend to focus on everything that’s going wrong (instead of right) and consider every worst-case scenario. At its root, this is a survival mechanism.

By focusing on the negative and what could go wrong, this means that we have a continuous stream of negative thoughts that enter our awareness.

If you tend to hear a lot of negative thinking and worst-case scenario thinking in your own mind, first it’s important to recognize that every single person experiences negative thinking.

It’s part of being human.

From there, simply acknowledge that there is an evolutionary reason behind it. You’re not doing anything wrong – it’s simply the way that your brain is hardwired.

However, just because we are aware of the thought does not mean that me need to give it our attention.

Where the practice of mindfulness comes in is starting to notice which of your thoughts are useful and which are not.

Yes, there are some thoughts that are worst-case scenario thoughts that are helping you and your family to survive, for example, making sure there’s food on the table, bills are paid, and that you all have comfortable shelter and clothing.

Yet there are also some thoughts that are not useful. Such as imagining what could happen at work if a project fails and dwelling on it, or feeling a deep fear related to it even though the situation has not even happened.

We all have wandering thoughts meaning that it’s somewhat normal to think about what would happen if you lost your job, if your spouse passed away, if you went bankrupt, etc.

But what distinguishes the difference between normal mind wandering and a behaviour that is harmful is how much attention you choose to give those thoughts.

For most negative thoughts, it’s enough to notice them... and then let them go.

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Mindfulness and neuroscience tools help with simply noticing your thoughts and empowering you to choose which thoughts you give your attention to.

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Have you found yourself getting 'stuck' in negative thinking? Take a few deep breaths and visualize yourself letting the thought go.

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I like to visualize an Etch-a-Sketch where you shake it and the image just slides away.

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Once you let the thought go, see what new and fresh thinking comes in next.

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This month I'm hosting a free workshop on Zoom titled How to Quiet Racing Thoughts on Wednesday, Feb 15th at 12pm PST (3pm EST). It's exclusive to members of my network.

I'll be sharing neuroscience-based coaching tools on how to quiet and clear your mind. I'll begin the workshop by presenting and then we'll also have time for questions.

If you can't make the workshop live, there will be a recorded replay available.

If you would like to join the How to Quiet Racing Thoughts Workshop on Zoom, send me a private message on LinkedIn and say "workshop" and I'll send over the calendar link.

-Tracey Gazel