Use Your Thought Power Three Steps to Inner Peace by Paige Dest
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o matter who you are, negativity can take over your mood and drag you down for a day, a week or even longer. We all face it— negative self-talk, cynicism and bad mojo. Sometimes it seems like there’s negativity everywhere you turn: Listen to the news; it’s usually negative. Look at Facebook—
everyone seems to have a happier or better life than you. Think about those around you—there’s always drama. Between dealing with people at work, in the community and friends and family, do you ever feel like shouting, “Stop the world, I want to get off!”? It’s easy to get caught up in the
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Question your thoughts. You are responsible for your thoughts, and you have the right to question your negative self-talk. Ask yourself where your thoughts are coming from—are they caused by something in your past? Are your thoughts about fearing a future event? The past is given to us as a lesson. We don’t know the future, so our mind tends to wander in the past because that’s what we know. Rather than dwell in the past, it could be helpful to ask yourself what is the worst that could happen? How likely is that worst case?
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negativity because it’s biological. Your brain actually has developed to focus on the negative: It monitors for threats, and even if the thought or situation isn’t really posing a threat, our brain can convince us that there is one. Now, we could consider how the brain works, how the chemical cortisol flows freely and encourages negative thoughts and how thinking positively helps the flow of dopamine, bringing warm and happy feelings; but let’s keep it simple with this one simple rule: You have the power to control your thoughts. You have the choice to see things positively, though it may take effort and practice. This is easier said than done, though. How do you deal with your coworker who is always complaining or the friend who likes to “help” by criticizing you in some way or the newscaster who is warning you of the dangers of global warming? You take back your power of choice. Here are three steps you can take today to begin developing positive inner peace.
