If you pay closer attention to your steady stream of thoughts, you may be surprised at how many of them are negative. Fear and its many manifestations, including worry, anger and judgment, can cause an unending flow of pessimistic and downbeat self-talk.
The first step in overcoming fearful and unhelpful patterns of thought and emotions is to begin to pay closer attention to them. Buddhists call this process mindfulness, or simply paying attention in each moment. Once you begin to increase your awareness of your emotional state of mind, you will have more opportunities to consciously change your habitual thoughts.
Each time you notice a negative thought, try changing it to its positive counterpart. For example, replace a thought like “I don’t know how to do this” with “I have an opportunity to learn something new,” or “people aren’t communicating with me” with “how can I initiate an opening for more conversation?”
Changing ingrained patterns of unproductive thinking takes time, patience and effort, but as you notice the rewards of replacing negative thoughts with a more positive point of view, you will be encouraged to continue with this mindful approach to increased hope and optimism. – agr
Change Your Mind
