How To Stop Negative Thinking And Turn Your Life Around

We've all been through difficult times in our lives and experienced loss.  I know I've personally gone through moments where I was depressed, had no friends, and feeling hopeless.  When you go through these dark periods it can be difficult to see the light and the good that is currently in your life, meaning you need to know how to stop negative thinking.

I recently received an e-mail from Ana, a follower of PLM, asking for help to a problem she's been facing in her life.  The advice that I gave her can be applicable to anyone that wants to learn how to stop negative thinking and turn your life around.

Watch the video below:

(Click here to watch on YouTube)

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4 Simple Steps To Stop Negative Thinking

When it comes to learning how to stop negative thinking, I've narrowed it down to 4 simple steps that anyone can take to change that negative feeling that they have and begin to change your life.  The basis of this advice is to understand what controls our emotions.  In any given moment, there are three things that control how we feel:  our physiology, our focus, and our language patterns.  I'll be addressing those in the advice below.

1. Cultivate Gratitude

I've said this time and time again… whatever you focus on, you feel!  The truth is, there are many HORRIFIC things going on in our lives or in this world right now that we could focus on and feel depressed about, often making it difficult to learn how to stop negative thinking. In the case of the video, Ana was focused on those negative things (having no friends, no money, etc…) and therefore she was feeling horrible about her life.  It's important to understand that there are a lot of AMAZING, beautiful things also going on in our lives and in the world that we can equally focus on to bring us much joy.  Whatever you decide to focus on is a CHOICE and will determine how you feel.

No matter how you're feeling right now, if you stop and take a moment to focus on and be grateful for all the wealth that's currently in your life, you will begin to feel remarkable. and will also learn how to stop negative thinking.  It's biochemical and it's how our brain works.  Try this simple experiment.

Make a list of at least 20 things that you're grateful for in your life.

Here's mine:

• I'm so grateful to be alive!
• I'm grateful for being physically fit!
• I'm grateful for my arms, legs, fingers, hands, feet, toes!
• I'm grateful to live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world!
• I'm grateful to be alive during the greatest period in the history of the world to be alive!
• I'm grateful for technology and the benefits it's brought to my life!
• I'm grateful for the foods that are easily accessible to me!
• I'm grateful for clean water!
• I'm grateful for books and resources that have the capability to transform my life!
• I'm grateful for cars and public transit that allow me to get around my city!
• I'm grateful for airplanes that allow me to visit any country in the world!
• I'm grateful for the clothing that I get to wear!
• I'm grateful for the amazing friends and family in my life!
• I'm grateful for all the experiences of my life, good and bad, for they have shaped me into who I am today!
• I'm grateful for the role models in my life, that have shown me what is possible!
• I'm grateful for the failures in my life, for they have provided valuable lessons!
• I'm grateful for being able to read!
• I'm grateful for being able to write!
• I'm grateful for being able to fluently speak English!
• I'm grateful for being able to walk!
• I'm grateful for my phone, that allows me to communicate with almost anyone I want!
• I'm grateful for e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, and the other resources I use daily!

Wow, I feel remarkable after that list!  If you actually did this exercise then it is nearly IMPOSSIBLE not to feel good after it, because you have to force yourself to focus on what's good in your life. It's a great way to learn how to stop negative thinking.  Let me ask you this:  what if you did this daily?  How would your life transform and be different?

The reason why anyone is depressed or unhappy is that they've CONDITIONED themselves to feel that way through consistently focusing on what's not going well in their lives.  The more you focus on something, the stronger it becomes, and it eventually becomes habitual.  This advice is a way for you to learn how to stop negative thinking. Your focus is a habit – use and train it wisely!  If you're looking to condition something regularly, I always recommend a morning ritual to really engrain it deeply into your nervous system so it's permanent.

2. Exercise

Exercise and moving your body has been proven to be the best anti-depressant, helping you to turn your life around.  When you exercise, your body releases endorphins and “happy chemicals” that make you feel good.  Not only that but if you exercise consistently in an aerobic fashion, you begin to increase the amount of oxygen in your red blood cells and can drastically increase your red blood cell count, giving you more energy throughout the day.

Another one of my favourite says is, “Emotion is created by motion!”  The way that you move biochemically affects how you feel.  If you're depressed or feeling down, simply change the way you're moving your body!  This is a simple way to learn how to stop negative thinking. People that exercise regularly are much happier than people that don't – that's a fact!  If you get into the habit of exercising regularly, not only will you feel good, but your levels of self-esteem and confidence will change.  You begin to feel PROUD of yourself.  When you feel good about yourself, you attract people into your life on a much different level.  When you feel bad about yourself, people don't want to be around you!

Exercise daily.  Get a rebounder, jump on it for at least 10 minutes per day.  Go for an aerobic run for 30 minutes a day, or hit the weight room.  The best thing about exercising is that it's FREE… you don't have to be rich to do it, it's available to anyone that's committed to it.

3. Surround Yourself With Positive People

Everyone needs a support group.  You become who you spend time with consistently, so if you're consistently surrounding yourself with people that are negative or have a bad outlook on life, you will begin to feel the same way and will begin to turn your life around.  You can be a negative person and then begin meeting and surrounding yourself with positive, happy people and sure enough, you'll begin to feel fantastic about yourself!  Your ways of thinking will change, and so will your belief systems.

In this day and age, it's EASY to meet people.  I personally have several, specific ways that I use to meet people. For instance, in my Life Mastery Accelerator Courses, I have a private Mastermind group that allows others to meet. They all have common interests and can support each other as they transform their lives.

Why not learn how to turn your life around by finding support groups that allow you to express what you are interested in?

If you have negative yourself from connecting to others and doing what you love, then connect your hobbies with meeting others.

You will find that you start to get the support you need while identifying ways to move in a positive direction.

If you want to learn how to stop negative thoughts, then working with others will help you to change your perspective and improve your life.

There are many communities available online where you can interact with others and many in-person meetup groups that are available.  One of my favorites is a site called MeetUp.com.  You can join a variety of different meetup groups and just by going regularly, makes friends with the people there.  If you have a difficult time making friends, then join some other activities: dance classes, yoga, attend seminars, book clubs, etc… there are activities for almost anyone!

4. Read Positivity Daily

Forget the news and feeding your brain with negativity.  Whatever you consistently feed your brain is affecting your daily.  If you're watching the news, watching garbage TV shows, and surrounding yourself with negative people… then you're in for trouble.  I've found the habit of reading a good book daily has done wonders for my life and is a simple way to learn how to stop negative thinking.  I enjoy reading self-help books or biographies about successful or inspirational people.  Just by reading these books you begin to feel better about yourself as you're feeding your brain positive information.  Over a period of time, you begin to think and feel like the author – it's remarkable.  I also recommend audio programs, video programs, and even blogs and websites like this!  ProjectLifeMastery.com is designed to help motivate and inspire you, so just by spending a few minutes on here every day, your entire mindset and life will change.  I have hours worth of videos on my YouTube channel that can help feed your brain some positivity!

Here's How to Turn Your Life Around

Being positive and turning your life around takes practice. It means that you have to consistently work on changing the negative parts of your life into something better.

Look at your daily activities. What creates the negative thought responses around you? They may be emotional or they may be thought based. There are several ways that your reactions are creating negativity.

Now, look at the things in your life that could change or cause you to no longer be negative.

If you want to know how to turn your life around then start by taking these small steps. You will find that your actions, every day, allow you to lead a happier and more positive life.

Your lifestyle, including your health, wealth, relationships, thoughts and emotions all contribute to how you decide to live. If you are focused on anything negative, it continues to play out in your life.

Just by applying these simple habits into your daily life, over a period of a few months, your entire world will change.  You need to think of these actions as planting seeds.  When you first plant seeds in the soil you don't immediately notice any tangible results.  Through consistently watering those seeds, roots begin to form underground and eventually that plant will begin to blossom.  The same thing happens in your life; the more you plant and water these seeds of habit, then eventually new results will blossom in your life, like more money or better relationships.