5-Step Hack to Get Rid of Your Negative Thoughts Fast

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Do you often feel like you don’t have any power over your mind? Do you feel trapped in a never-ending spiral of negative thoughts that’s making you more miserable every day? Are you wondering how can finally get rid of those negative lenses that filter your world, making it look scarier than it is? Well, then you’re in the right place!

There is a quote that constantly reminds me of how powerful our mind is:

“You can go to the gym, drink your water and take your vitamins, but if you don’t deal with the things going on in your heart and head, you’re still going to be unhealthy.”

If what’s going on in your head is negative self-talk, limiting beliefs, insecurities, judgemental opinions, blame, and guilt…How healthy are you, really?

It happens to everyone to wake up and be in a bad mood, feel unexpectedly down, or be more self-critical than on other days.

The problem is when this is not the exception, but it’s the rule.

If you live your days spiraling down in recurring negative thoughts, it’s time for a change! And…that first change occurs in your mindset.

Are you ready to find out how you can step away from your negative thoughts and turn them into positive ones that can serve you, rather than put you down? Then, let’s get started!

📌 SHORT ON TIME? PIN IT FOR LATER! 📌

IDENTIFY YOUR TRIGGER

A spiral starts with your very first negative thought – that leads to another, then another, then another one.

If you want to stop having negative thoughts, you must pay attention to the trigger. How does it all start?

Some helpful questions to identify the trigger that starts your spiral are:

• When does it happen?
• Where are you?
• Are you alone or is there someone else with you?
• What were your thoughts before the episode?
• In which headspace were you before the episode?
• What emotions were you feeling?

The first – and one of the most important steps – to interrupt a recurring negative pattern is to identify your trigger.

The questions above should help you outline not what’s happening during the episode, but rather right before it occurs.

If you can identify what triggers you, you can use this insight to your advantage by either removing the trigger or creating a better response.

To give you some examples:

• If your negativity is caused by another person → Reduce the amount of time you spend with this person, and – if possible – completely cut them out of your life
• Do you start having negative thoughts after being in a certain place? → Try to seek alternatives for where you could go instead
• If your negativity is fueled by a certain feeling → What is another coping mechanism you could adopt instead of spiraling?

The first step towards stopping your negative thoughts is identifying what is making them start in the first place.

VALIDATE YOUR NEGATIVE THOUGHTS

Once you have identified the trigger, the next thing to do is to pay attention to the episode itself.

This phase requires you to be fully present and aware of your negative thoughts to validate them.

As it is common to do during meditation practices, the key is to not judge what you’re thinking.

Observe your thoughts from a non-judgmental perspective.

Your feelings, your thoughts, and your sensations are all valid. You don’t need to find an explanation or justify them.

Whenever you think that you shouldn’t feel in a certain way – or have a specific thought – you’re actually making it worse.

By having negative emotions regarding the negative thoughts you have, guess what you’re doing? You’re fueling negativity with even more negativity.

If it’s true that you can’t extinguish a fire with more fire, it’s just as true that you can’t expect to step away from negativity by feeling guilty or ashamed of your feelings.

Shame and guilt have the same low frequency as your negative thoughts!

What can you do, instead? You could start by embracing the negativity.

Embrace your thoughts, embrace your feelings.

Don’t beat yourself up for what you’re thinking, but rather go all-in: feel the emotions, witness your thoughts, and embrace all that you’re experiencing.

Making peace with your thoughts is the second step towards stepping away from your negative thinking.

DETACH FROM YOUR NEGATIVE THOUGHTS

After realizing that you can have any thoughts – and there’s no right or wrong – there’s another important shift you must adopt if you want to get rid of your negative thoughts.

What you must realize is that you’re not your thoughts.

Read that again:

You’re not what you think. You’re not your thoughts.

Remember that you have power over your thinking, not the opposite.

What you think of is not a reflection of the person you are.

All the negative thoughts that are spinning in your head are just the narrative that your mind decided to play.

If it’s true that you’re not what you think of, then you might be asking: “Who am I, then?”.

Well, if that’s the case, this “30-Day Journaling Prompts for Self-Discovery” is going to help you figure it out! You can grab it below for free:

Now that you’ve learned you’re non-attached to your thoughts, the next question you should ask yourself is: “What kind of thoughts do I want to have?”

QUESTION YOUR THINKING

One practice that’s highly helpful if you want to quickly get rid of your negative thoughts is to write them down.

Why should you write down your thoughts? Well, because it allows you to further distance yourself and look at them from a different perspective.

After you’ve jotted down what you think, for every entry in your journal, ask yourself: “Is this thought absolutely true?”.

Your thoughts are all affected by external factors. Some examples are:

• The situation you grew up in
• Your current environment
• The circle of people in your life
• Your past experiences
• The beliefs you have about yourself, others, and the world

That explains why two people who are in the same situation might have two different mindsets – usually resulting in completely different outcomes. They started from the same starting point, but they reached different finish lines. What was different? Their thoughts throughout the journey.

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”

– Marcus Aurelius

– Marcus Aurelius

Next time you’re in the middle of a negative spiral, grab your favorite notebook and journal about it. Then, proceed to ask yourself some questions, such as:

• Is this the absolute truth?
• What could be another way to think about this?
• Does this thought serve me? If yes, how?
• How does this thought affect me?
• Is this thought, in any way, getting me closer to reaching any of my goals?

REPLACE NEGATIVE WITH POSITIVE

After you’ve realized that what you think of might not be the absolute truth – (spoiler: it rarely is!) – it’s finally time to take the biggest and hardest step.

This involves making a complete mindset shift: you’re stepping out of the negative and replacing it with the positive!

I hear you: you’re thinking “Ugh, easier said than done”.

That’s true but I also know you can do it! I believe in you! (And so should you!)

If you want to finally step out of your negative thoughts spiral, you need to let go of the negativity – that’s not serving you – and turn it into something positive that you can use to your own benefit.

For example, next time you find yourself thinking negatively, try to make the following switches:

• “I always make bad decisions” → “I am learning how to make better decisions and handle things to the best of my capabilities”
• “I look terrible” → “I embrace and love myself no matter what”
• “I can’t do it” → “Everybody starts as a beginner”
• “I’m never good enough” → “I give my 100% every time, and this is what my 100% looks like today”
• “I shouldn’t feel this way” → “All my feelings are valid and worthy”

Surely it won’t feel easy at first.

Over time, though, with enough practice and consistency, your brain will get used to having a growth mindset rather than a fixed one.

Always remember: you’re in control of your thoughts!

Start changing the way you think today because it will contribute to your mindset of tomorrow.

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When falling into a spiral of negative thoughts, the tendency is to fuel it even more with feelings such as guilt and shame.

Learn not to fight your thoughts and emotions, but rather embrace them. Once you’ve made peace with what’s going on in your head, you can recognize where it all comes from.

Next thing you know, you’re on your path to turning what’s negative into a positive fuel that will help you become your best self!

Q: “How do you usually cope with negative thoughts?” – Share your answer with a comment!

Until next time,

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