Let’s take a look at how things are going with your thinking.
Answer “yes” or “no” to the following questions.
1. When you speak, do you often use the phrase “everything’s ok, but…” or “yes, but…”? When the first part of the sentence is positive, it’s immediately followed by a “but”.
2. When a new opportunity comes knocking at your door, do worries, doubts, and feelings of anxiety often cloud the anticipation of success?
3. How do you feel about others? Do you tend to notice mostly negative traits in people?
4. Do you make a habit of comparing yourself to others in a negative light?
5. Do you often think that other people are trying to fool you, cheat you, or screw you over?
6. Jealousy, the desire for revenge, contempt – are these feelings frequent guests of yours?
7. Are you more likely to talk about the bad than the good?
When you answer these following questions, choose either “A” or “B“.
How do you feel about your birthday?
A) It’s a lost cause; age is unforgiving.
B) It’s like reaching new frontiers!
When you meet difficult situations:
A) You get desperate, frustrated, and begin to remember all the difficulties and injustices that you have encountered.
B) You think it’s unpleasant, of course, but it’s a matter of life, we’ll manage somehow.
Your inner dialogue makes an accent more often on:
A) “I can’t.”
B) “Yes, I can!”
Score more than three “yes” answers and at least one “A” option? Negative thinking is your problem.
The habit of looking at the world through dark glasses is quite damaging. Because of it, you can miss opportunities, experience problems in your relationships, kill your self-esteem, and much more.
Now, you should get busy airing your head out. You can use the “Breeze” exercise for that. We used it in the “Brainwash” course.
1) When you find a negative thought going through your head again, allow yourself to just watch over it for a short while.
2) Now, turn your attention to the sensations in your body. Notice if there is any tension in the body somewhere. Perhaps abdominal cramps, a lump in your throat, chest pressure… Maybe there’s been a change in your pulse or breathing, an increase in heart rate. Or something else has happened…
3) Then, turn to breathing. Thoroughly go through every breath in and out. Breathe deeply and calmly for a while. At this stage, you can already find that your obsessive thought has gone elsewhere.
4) If the thought hasn’t gone yet, engage your imagination. As you continue to breathe deeply and calmly, imagine that the negative thought is a cloud that flows through your mind and body. Imagine that your breath is the wind that blows away and scatters this cloud-thought, and the sky of consciousness and body becomes pure and clear. Do not try to drive the thought out, just breathe like the wind, and disperse the cloud until it disappears completely.
5) Take a couple more deep breaths in and out, and finish the exercise.
Self-therapy can be an essential tool for personal growth and self-improvement.
Browse through our courses and see the positive changes they can bring to your life.
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