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The Insidious Power of Negatively- How I Flipped my Mindstate to the Positive
I often write about the power of self-directed positive thinking, but now I want to give an example of how negative thinking is so stifling.
Negative thinking is a crutch. It gives one an excuse to avoid the hard work of self development. When we arrive at a juncture where we can pursue excellence or admist defeat, negative thinking will play a role to shape our future.
When I arrived at a juncture after a job loss, I began to have negative thoughts creep into my daily life. I focused on how my employer had done me wrong and put me in a tenuous situation. I began to focus on outward pressures including finances and the negative impact this layoff would have on my career instead of the next steps I would need to take. My negative thought spiral robbed me of energy and time. When we are in a do or die situation, we need to think quickly, have energy to execute plans and be strong in our determination and character. In essence, negative thoughts sapped my survival strength.
In order to thrive in this crazy life, we need energy and direction. Positive thinking is often written off as a buzzword, but it provides us with necessary energy to pursue excellence. When I was negative, I was blinded and was in a fight or flight tunnel vision state that kept me both unbalanced and weak. Positive thinking was what I needed, and I recognized that but how could I right the ship? What could I do?
Flipping our thoughts to the positive
The first step towards flipping my mindstate to consistent positive thinking patterns was making a written plan. As constrained as my thoughts were to the negative I needed to build a plan quickly. A huge key towards flipping to from the negative to the positive is to start with a written concrete plan. Another important thing I did for me was to pray- I knew that God had a better plan for me and I was in a dark place. The combination of writing plans down confronting myself and where I stood and praying for guidance help me get to the next step- things were looking better.
The next step in a flipping your mindstate into a positive frame of mind is focusing on what you have now, how far you've come from your past and what you have to do to make it to your desired future path. Avoid comparing yourself to others. It's poisonous to envy or compare yourself to other people- you don't know what they've done in their past or their future, you don't know their problems, so you should stop doing that.
Another important thing when flipping your mindstate is to reach out to your community and start building that community up. You may feel that you're in a lot of trouble but can you volunteer at a soup kitchen? Can you help those in need can you garden? Getting outside of your own problems into new situations is going to be able to bolster your mindstate.
When I was able to overcome my negative mindset I was able to see the forest for the trees and move on. It took time, but I was able to right my ship and over time overcome my issues. I grew, and in life you're either growing or dying, so get going and focus on a better future.
