Dealing With Negative Thoughtsنموونە

All of us have struggled at times with negative thoughts.

Negative thoughts creep in often in the midst of situations or circumstances that are already chaotic. They come paired with feelings such as stress, fear, frustration, anger, and uncertainty. Negative thoughts can come as the result of negativity, and then they can breed further negativity. It is a vicious cycle. A self-perpetuating entity that only leads to further negativity.

These negative thoughts are often either learned patterns in our relationships or from distorted perspectives that we’ve picked up along the way.

However, we can’t really change our behavior without changing our thoughts. Scripture urges us to change our thinking in order to renew our minds.

Here are a few tips on how to deal with negative thoughts:

1. Avoid spending energy on things you can’t control. Mentally strong people don’t complain about bad situations beyond their control. They recognize the one thing they can always control is their own attitude.
2. Avoid dwelling on the past. There is strength in acknowledging the past, especially in things learned from the past, but a mentally strong person avoids letting past mistakes define them. They invest the majority of their energy in the present and the future.
3. Avoid giving up after failure. Every failure is a chance for improvement. Failure is a natural aspect of life, and as such, we must develop resiliency despite our failures.
4. Avoid resenting other people’s success. It takes strength of character to genuinely feel joy and excitement for other people’s success. 1 Corinthians 13 states that love rejoices with others, and does not become jealous or resentful when others succeed.
5. Avoid worrying about pleasing others. Know any people pleasers? People who go out of their way to please others? People who are mentally strong are able to withstand the possibility that someone will get upset with them, even if they speak up.

Let’s align our thoughts in life with God’s truth, so we can be who we were created to be in Christ.