Do you everDo you ever have those moments where you are stuck in an anxiety spiral, where all you can think is through a negative lens?

“I’m so dumb.” “WHY did I do that? I totally suck at life.” “Nothing goes my way.” “Bring on the shit storm. It’s one thing after another.” “I’m not good enough.” “Something terrible is going to happen.” “I’m going to make a fool of myself.” “I can’t handle this situation.” “I’m going to fail.” “I’m always going to feel this miserable.” “I’m never going to get better.” “Everyone is judging me.” “I’m not lovable.”

The truth is that if you continuously think these thoughts, it will eventually come true. You become what you think. You start listening to these thoughts and they come true.

And yeah, sure, maybe there is some truth to them. But the only way you are going to get better, the only way you are going to feel better is if you change your mindset. Change the way you think. Change the content of your thoughts. Make it a choice, make it a commitment to work on switching your thoughts from negative to positive every day. Work on your mindset every day.

If you are not your own best friend. Your own cheerleader. Your own number one fan. Life is miserable. Been there. Done that.

SO here are Six Tips to Stop Negative thoughts:

01. Start a Mindfulness Practice – Try 5 minutes of mindful breathing. This simple mindfulness practice is all it takes to stop rumination (and the cortisol spike) in its tracks. Here is a link to my free guide on How to Meditate.

02. Practice Gratitude – Simply making the switch from focusing on all the negative things that are happening in your life to all the blessings in your life can reduce stress while promoting a positive mindset.

03. Be Aware Of Negative Moods – A bad mood, will increase your negative thoughts. It will also shift your thoughts to the past, which is something we cannot control. The best ways to shift out of a bad mood? Focus on the present moment. Then focus on what you are grateful for in this moment.

04. Focus On A Positive Future – Focusing on a positive future and all the good things that can come help you move on from the situation. Even if you don’t feel positive about your future, play a game with yourself. Challenge yourself to paint a picture in your mind’s eye of a positive future. Focus on this pretend, positive future, and maybe it’ll come true.

05. Accept The Past – Figure out what you need to accept a situation for what it is. Once you have reached this acceptance, you can begin to learn and grow from the situation. As you practice acceptance, new neuronal pathways are formed in the brain making acceptance easier in the future.

06. Focus On Solutions – Start by defining what success looks like. Then define clear, measurable goals that will lead to success. Write the goals down. Now you have a successful to-do list and a place to start.

This all starts with self-awareness. How aware are you of the content of your thoughts?