As I sit at my computer listening to Chopin’s famous “Nocturne Op. 9, Nº. 2” to inspire my writing, I think to myself, “No one wants to read what I have to write. The internet is filled with bloggers far better than I am. I have nothing worth contributing.”
Wow, that is a string of super negative thoughts. I have negative thoughts like that far too often, which is probably why I majored in psychology. It has been said that we have anywhere from 12k – 70k thoughts per day and that over 80% of most people’s thoughts are negative. Why are we so mean to ourselves? Why am I so mean to myself?
This is not the first time I have had this realization. I have been actively battling my negative thought process for the past 7 years of my life. Prior to that, I just considered my negative thoughts to be truth. I had a pessimistic view of myself, others, and the world.
Today, I actively reframe my negative thoughts into positive thoughts because life is too short to not love yourself. I wish I could say that my negative thoughts are gone, but they aren’t. They will probably never go away, but I can keep them at bay with my daily practice of positive reframes.
For example, I can replace the negative thought expressed above, “No one wants to read my writing…” with “I don’t know if someone will want to read my writing, but I am going to write it anyways because I have thoughts that are worth sharing with others.”
It’s this type of practice that helps me push through activities that are not a strength of mine (i.e., writing). If I let the negative thought demon have a power over me, then eventually I will be stuck in my bed ruminating about the cruel nature of this world or how I was born in the wrong century or something. I wasn’t born in the wrong century. None of us were. We are where we are, however we got here, and we should make the best of where we go next. One place to start is by turning some of those negative thoughts into positive thoughts.
To help get you started, here are some inspirational quotes:
“Your attitude is like a box of crayons that color your world.”
- Allen Klein
“My mom says don't open the door to the devil. Surround yourself with positive people.”
- Cuba Gooding, Jr.
“Negative thoughts stick around because we believe them, not because we want them or choose them.”
- Andrew J. Bernstein
The darkness, the loop of negative thoughts on repeat, clamors and interferes with the music I hear in my head”
- Lady Gaga