“You’re lazy.” “What the hell am I doing?” “Why am I so stupid?” “Why me?” Why did they leave me?” “Why does God let this happen?” …
If you’re alive, you’re probably had one or more of these thoughts pop into your head. Maybe it even changed the feeling in your stomach or turned your smile into a look of concern. Your brow may have been furrowed. Negative thoughts are something that everyone has almost daily and probably will forever. Aren’t you glad you’re reading this positive article? The point is, you cannot control every thought that pops into your head, but you can control both how you let it affect you and how long you allow it to stay in your mind.
“Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.” Revelations: 12:7
LIFE IS A BATTLE
Everyone has a metaphor for what life is to them. I have many. Life is a party. Life is a gift. It’s a Wonderful Life (my favorite movie). But, life is also a battle. There is a constant battle going on in the world and in your body. It’s not necessarily good versus evil, but it is a battle within nature itself. In your body, even at the cellular level there are bacterium and viruses trying to invade and destroy your own cells. You even have precancerous cells that are trying to avoid your immune systems efforts to kill them. The negative thoughts you have daily and the battle you face to rid yourself of them are no different than your immune system trying to kill unwanted invaders. Therefore, the answer to negative emotion is that you must attack it. Your enemies must be attacked or they will conquer. The weeds must be attacked or they will take the garden. It’s a fight that we’re in, just as there was in heaven. Times haven’t changed.
YOU ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS
The first way to attack negative thoughts is to face them head on and remember that you are not your thoughts. You are the one listening to them. The fastest way to attack the bad thoughts is to say out loud, “thanks for sharing.” By saying that phrase out loud, you are actively reminding yourself that you have control. You get to choose where you live emotionally, but you must exercise control over yourself to make that happen. It’s no different than training in the gym. You must train yourself to attack your negative thoughts.
REPLACE THEM AND CHANGE FOCUS
You become what you think about most of the time. So, you must attack bad thoughts and replace them with good ones. What are you grateful for? Who do you love? Who loves you? Who makes you laugh? What was the best time of your life? Just by shifting your focus and asking better questions, you will flood your mind with incredible thoughts and memories. One way to think of thoughts is to think of light. Negative thoughts are like darkness. Positive thoughts are light. No amount of darkness can prevail if there is even a bit of light. The light will always win.
USE YOUR BODY
Exercise is a must. It’s by far the most researched and best antidepressant there is. But there are other things I do to keep a mind of positivity. One way is to expose myself to intense cold. Every morning I start by taking a warm shower and then turn it to cold and force myself to focus on my breathing while the water races over my skin. I’ve learned to not only tolerate it, I now love it. I realize there isn’t a negative though in my head when I’m near freezing. You don’t have time to be sad when your body is being pushed physically.
Another big weapon in my arsenal against negative thoughts is breathing. I forcefully breathe deep, hold it for a four count and then exhale. I try to repeat this thirty times in a row. By deeply oxygenating my body, my mind begins to flood with happy thoughts. It’s amazing how breathing differently can positively change your life. It changed mine. For more information, research Iceman Wim Hoff. The man is literally a superhuman. https://youtu.be/GJtww-wTNK0
The last thing I do to attack negative thoughts is to force extreme discomfort to my body. The effect is similar to cold therapy, but I choose to use deep tissue massage and lying on a spike mat. Yes, a mat with sharp plastic spikes. What deep massage and spike mats force me to do is to control my body through my mind. It forces me to control my breath and therefore my thoughts. I recommend the Spoonk mat for 10 minutes a day.
Remember, you want to be able to say you fought for what you loved and kept the faith. Have faith in yourself. Have faith in others. And remember, it’s a fight we’re in. Fight for your mind every day.
If you have 15 minutes to spare, this classic Jim Rohn video may help you attack your negative thoughts.
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