Negative thinking is something we all engage in from time to time, but constant negativity can destroy your mental health, leaving you depressed and anxious.
You have a million thoughts a day, but you don’t even notice them; you just believe them. We swim through our thoughts like a fish swims through water- we don’t even notice that the way we think colors our views of the world. Or sometimes we do notice, right?
Sometimes we notice thoughts we don’t like, and then we don’t know what to do with them. Sometimes you fight them or you struggle against them, but you know if, for example, you think, “Oh, I’m such an idiot,” and then you tell yourself, “No, I’m the smartest person in the world,” that doesn’t necessarily feel any better.
So sometimes you get stuck in an endless loop of overthinking, obsessively struggling against a thought or obsessively worrying about something. But that’s not any better because struggle steals your attention and your energy. Our thoughts are like glasses: they are the lens through which we see the world. If you think the world is a terrible, mean place, that’s what you’ll see.
If you want to improve your mental health, the skill of cognitive defusion teaches you instead of letting them run the show. Do you know at least three people? If so, then the odds instead of letting them run the show.
Do you know at least three people? If so, then the odds are good that you know someone who experiences mental illness. But if you’re like most people, you may feel anxious and uncertain about how to help. Everyone needs to learn these skills, but most people are never taught them.
Stay away from negative people.
They have a problem for every solution. This is not true for ALL situations, just like everything in life, but what the quote points to, is that you should always limit your time, limit your time with people that continually drain your energy and add no value to your life.
Negative people are usually very committed….to being negative, and the more you push them to be anything else, the more they will push back. This doesn’t mean you show no compassion towards others.
LIVE WITH COMPASSION.
LIVE WITH EMPATHY.
Put yourself in others shoes….do all that as a standard practice of being a decent human being….but keep your life free from the drama and negativity that is not WHO YOU ARE. If your attempts to lift someone out of negativity are unsuccessful, you have to move on. Everyone comes into your life for a reason, a lesson or a blessing. The people in your life should be reducing your stress, not causing more of it.
If you consider yourself to be a positive person and want to live your best life, surround yourself with positive people. Surround yourself with people that make you feel good about being yourself. Surround yourself with people that see the good in the world. By doing so, you will see more good too.
You will attract more good and don’t let them drain your energy. Energy does not discriminate. Just like weightlifting, if you focus on getting one body part stronger, you put all your energy and focus and effort on that muscle, working on it every day. That muscle will get stronger if you put all your energy into negative people, your life will be negative if your attention is on what is wrong with your life.
If your attention and energy is on the negative people and the negativity, it will invade your life. Do not let them suck your energy, keep your focus on what is good and you will see more good and more good will grow and just like a muscle.
The same is true on the opposite side. If you lie down with dogs you will get up with fleas. If you lie down with negativity, you will be consumed with negativity and you are what you eat. What you consume will consume you. Your friends and peer group are a great reflection of you because you chose them, so choose wisely.
Say thank you to all the toxic people in your life. Why say thank you? If they didn’t appreciate you, they taught you how you must not be treated. They taught you how to not treat others. If they let you go, they showed you how to move on. They showed you something more than a relationship. They showed “You” at the deepest level.