How to beat negative thoughts

7 am on Monday morning, my alarm clock is ringing. No school run, still half term.

First thought: I’m going to pull my hair out, another week in ‘paradise’ awaiting me. (I’m being ironic here!)

Let’s stay in bed for longer; it pretty much all s*cks out there anyway at the moment!

Sounds familiar to you?

Suddenly you have all these negative thoughts creeping in, whether this is in the morning or at any other time during your day. And they are pulling you down and holding you back!

How can you deal with those thoughts sabotaging your day?

In my coaching sessions, I sometimes do a powerful exercise with people who are facing a difficult dynamic in a relationship that is truly shifting energies for them. And what I sometimes get as an outcome is a big smile together with the following statement: ‘Focus on the good’. On the good in your day, take out the beautiful moments and focus on them. And on the good in people.

And that is exactly what I did this morning to get myself jumping out of bed. I started thinking about my special treat for breakfast I got myself on Sunday, a delicious almond croissant, and the smell of Colombian coffee.

It can be little things that can make a BIG difference. You don’t have to change the entire world overnight, do you?

If you want to learn more about how to beat negative thoughts, below I have expanded on some more ideas that have come up for people I’ve been coaching.

Acknowledge your negative thoughts

Take the time to make yourself aware of what your negative thoughts are and the feelings that come along with each of them. One good way of doing this is to take a deep breath, and then write them down.

Talk about it

Find someone you can trust, and who is objective, you can share your negative thoughts with.

Challenge yourself

Ask yourself ‘for what are those negative thoughts useful’? ‘How are they distracting me from what I want to achieve in life’? ‘How draining are they’?

Positive affirmations

Put a list together of positive affirmations you can tell yourself when those negative thoughts are creeping in. Write them down.

Practice gratitude

Find some time each day, it can only be a couple of minutes, where you acknowledge what you have and why you are grateful for it. It can be the first thing on your list when waking up, or after you had dinner.

Surround yourself with a positive network of people

Find people that are showing a positive attitude in life and spend time with them.

Find enjoyable things to do

Make room for activities you love doing on a daily or weekly basis.

Change of scenery

Sometimes it helps to take a plane and to immerse yourself in a different country and culture. Or simply go for a walk in a park or neighbourhood you haven’t been to before.