Interesting Psychology Team
How the habit of negative thinking builds up
We are creatures of habit. This is why we quickly get used to a certain way of doing things, a particular way of acting or thinking. We establish habits of thought according to how we are thinking, on a thought-by-thought basis. A habit can be established surprisingly quickly, often within a few weeks.
We tend to think about ourselves and our lives in a certain way—our thoughts following a familiar path. If we are in the habit of thinking negatively about ourselves, we must expect to feel chronic depression and a lack of motivation to get out of those well-worn ways of thinking. The feelings of lethargy and apathy that usually accompany this state of mind can be devastating. The real tragedy is that once the habit of negative thinking is established, it determines the way in which we act and react in most situations.
The cumulative effect of many little negative thoughts, each seemingly insignificant, is what does the damage. A daily dose of this kind of thinking is enough to drag anybody down:
- —I won’t go
- —I wouldn’t enjoy it
- —I won’t like it
- —I wonder why they are being nice to me—If I try this, I’ll mess it up
- —I can’t do it
- —I’m so unattractive
- —I wonder why she invited me?
If we indulge in this type of thinking day after day and week after week, it is no wonder that we feel less than happy and confident. We are feeding our anxieties with our negative thoughts, which is why we can end up quite depressed. Each seemingly unimportant thought has an effect and contributes to our overall habit of thinking about ourself and our environment.
We are usually totally unaware of the fact that our thoughts are so negative. Thought by thought, we build up a destructive pattern of thinking. Negative thoughts are like an insidious and slow-growing cancer, creeping up on us without our knowledge or awareness.
Decide to adopt the habit of positive thinking
We must guard against the one-at-a-time negative thoughts that
seem to pop into mind. They may seem small and unimportant, but
they are a trap because they tend to build up and ruin our whole way
of thinking. It is the little thoughts that you have to deal with if you
want to move out of your present state of anxiety and depression.
When we have established a habit of thinking positively, the
result is a general feeling of optimism, well-being and heightened
self-confidence. Other consequences are personal growth,
increased motivation, energy and enjoyment of life, and a general
feeling of being on top of things.
When you adopt the habit of thinking positively, certain things begin to happen. You will feel more confident and you will find that you start to handle stressful situations better. You will develop a more optimistic outlook on life and begin to enjoy it more. You will become more cheerful and find it easier to motivate yourself. Things you previously thought were beyond you will seem more within your reach. You will begin to want to try new and unfamiliar things because you believe that you can succeed. You will find it easier to make new friends, probably because your tolerance of other people has increased due to the fact that you are feeling happier in yourself.
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