Not so long ago, my head was full of negativity. I would tell myself what a loser I was, I was always looking for the worst to happen, and in every situation I could only see the negative. All of that negativity affected my mood, and my attitude.

With the help and encouragement of my counselor, I began to change my thinking. Turning my thoughts to a more positive outlook. In the beginning this was very difficult for me. Months passed with me continuing to try to have more positive thinking. It became easier and easier. I noticed that my mood was improving. I had a more positive attitude about my life. I no longer worried all the time and I was much more relaxed. I became a more pleasant person to be around. I felt better because my thoughts were better.

Positive Thinking

Many people give themselves negative messages.  Most of the time they do not realize they are doing it.  Usually, it is something they learned as a child.  They could have learned these negative messages from other children, teachers, family, caregivers, and society. Once a person has learned them, they tend to repeat them over and over to themselves, especially during a difficult time in life.  They come to believe what the negative messages are saying, and often create their own to add to what they are already repeating to themselves. These negative thoughts or messages lower a person’s self-esteem and make them feel bad about themselves.

Some common messages that people repeat over and over to themselves are “I never do anything right,” “No one likes me,”  “I am a loser,”  “I am stupid.”  Most people believe these messages about themselves, no matter how untrue they are.  The messages tend to point out the worst in a person and they are hard to turn off and unlearn.

However, they can be turned off and replaced with positive messages and thoughts.  To start, you need to pay attention to your thoughts.  Every time you have a negative thought or give yourself a negative message, ask yourself a few questions.  Is this message really true?  Would I say this to another person? If not then why am I  saying it to myself?   What do I  get out of saying this message? If it makes me feel bad then why not stop using it?

Once you are aware of when and what negative thoughts and messages you are saying to yourself you can start replacing them with positive ones.  Since you cannot think two thoughts at the same time, if you are thinking something positive you will not be able to have negative thoughts.  When you are creating your new messages, remember to use positive words like, wonderful, good, smart, loving.

After you have created your new, positive messages, start repeating them to yourself over and over.  Write them over and over if you need to.  Put them in places where you can see them daily, as a reminder to you.  The refrigerator, the bathroom mirror, the door you use to leave your house, as a screen saver on your computer are all good places to put them.

Changing your negative thoughts to positive ones, will take time and persistence.  If you stick with it, in a few weeks you will notice that you have fewer negative thoughts and when they do pop up you will have positive messages to replace them with.  You will also notice that your attitude will change for the better and you will feel physically better as a result of less stress and worry.