You may not know it but, whilst you’re sitting there sipping your morning coffee and reading this article, Cortisol (which feeds negative thoughts) and Dopamine (which feeds positive thoughts) are up in arms, fighting for possession of a very valuable landscape – your brain!
Whilst we all want the good guys to win, mother nature has built favor with Cortisol because it has a proven history of using fear and negativity to keep us safe. For example, thanks to Cortisol, you don’t walk out into oncoming traffic because you’re afraid of being hit by a car. Thanks to Cortisol, you’ll pick up the pace and work a little harder to hit a deadline because you’re paranoid about getting fired.
When Negative Thoughts Become Too Much To Handle
You may be thinking that Cortisol isn’t all that bad then. Still, an excess of Cortisol can cause an overwhelming imbalance, and, unfortunately, such imbalances are not uncommon these days considering the high-stress lives we all lead! So, it falls to us to better manage the balance of hormones in our brains to, more actively, overcome negative thoughts and develop a more positive mindset.
3 Steps To Creating A Positive Mindset
Identify Negative Thought Patterns and Trends
We all have triggers, particular fears, or negative thought patterns and, before you can start to make corrections, it’s important to know what needs correcting! So please take a good, long look at what it is, specifically, in your daily life that you think negatively about.
Practice Positive Affirmations
Once you know your weaknesses, you can start to strengthen your positivity army! Insert positive affirmations in place of the negative thoughts you’ve identified. It might be challenging at first, but it works! For example, replace “I’m never going to meet someone” with “my perfect match is just around the corner” or “I can never afford anything” with “I have an abundance of wealth.”
Keep Track of Positive Changes With A Gratitude Journal
This step is the most important! Keep track of the great stuff that is happening in your life, and you’ll soon start to see those positive thoughts shining through more often without you even trying.
Hey Joyfreshers, how do you overcome your negative thoughts and develop a positive mindset? What are some of your favorite positive affirmations?
References: Mayoclinic.org
