Turning Negative Thoughts into Gratitude

Did you know we can re-wire our brain to overcome negative automatic thoughts and replace them with positive ones?

This simple exercise below will help show you how, by transforming your negative thoughts into gratitude. When we keep our negative thoughts floating around in our heads, we only confuse and frustrate ourselves. This practice will help release the tension caused by negative thinking, and also help rewire your brain to produce positive thoughts. 

First off, it's important to note that having negative thoughts doesn't make you a negative person, in most cases negative thoughts are simply automatic thought-patterns that are triggered in our brain based out of habit. The good thing is, it's completely reversible with mindful awareness.

As Eckhart Tolle once said, 

"becoming aware of negative thinking is the first step in breaking one's addiction to it."

 

If we don’t take the time to bring awareness upon our negative thoughts, they can pop-up in our minds again and again, and continue on autopilot until we begin to observe and detach from them. Which is why practicing self-awareness on a daily basis is so important or our happiness and health.

We CAN re-wire our brains and overcome self-defeating habits and replace them with new, positive and healthy ones. This simple exercise below will help show you how, by transforming your negative thoughts into gratitude.

Yes, it's possible to turn negativity into gratitude.

It’s what I like to call, the flip-switch technique. You take a negative thought or experience and ‘flip it around’ and look for the beauty in it. It’s best to do this whenever you find yourself in a bad mood or negative state, as it can quickly shift you out of it.

Here’s how it works...

First, write down any negative thoughts throughout the day that pop-up in your head. Don’t look for negative thoughts, simply become aware of them as they enter your mind, and if you can, write them down throughout the day.

 

Here are a few examples of what you might write down:

1. The kids are driving me crazy
2. The House is a mess
3. There’s so much laundry to do
4. The dishes are always dirty
5. The house is so noisy
6. I got hurt by someone I love
7. I hate having dirty toilets to clean
8. My body is tired & overweight

 

Now take a look at your list, and look for the good that is present in every negative thought - look for the BEAUTY in every negative situation...

Isn't it beautiful how easily we can switch our perspective? This simple exercise will re-condition your brain to become more positive and optimistic.

So why not take a moment to flip-switch  whenever you have a negative thought enter your mind today. By the end of the day, you should have a list of all the positives things those negative thoughts failed to notice and acknowledge.

If you find yourself trailing back to ANT's (automatic-negative-thoughts) don't judge yourself, it's normal. Simply practice this simple gratitude exercise regularly, and those old thought patterns will gradually change. By practicing gratitude daily you'll start to reprogram old thought-patterns that caused you pain, suffering and anxiety and replacing them with positive thought-patterns that create calm, healthy, and positive thoughts & feelings more consistently.  

And there really is so much to be grateful for!

 

Because not everyone has a house to clean…

Not everyone has food to eat, let alone dirty dishes.

Many people are alone and don’t have anyone to love (or annoy) them.

And 150,000 people that were alive yesterday, aren’t alive today.

But thankfully, you are still here…

Thankfully, you are blessed beyond measure…

Thankfully, you have abundance flowing through you and around you in every corner.

And thankfully, God gave you a heart and a mind to acknowledge, embrace, and appreciate all these beautiful things each day.

Not everyone gets to experience these blessings. In fact, Nearly 50% of the world's population lives on less than $3 a day, and over 1 billion still live without electricity…

Just by being able to read this post, you are luckier than 775 million people who can’t read at all.

And If you have food in your fridge, clothes on your back, change to spare, a roof over your head and a place to sleep…. you are richer than 75% of the world!

So let us take in how BLESSED we are, for all our daily blessings we can easily take for granted.

Whether you know it or not, your existence here on earth is an incredible miracle of the universe. Let’s be of service to others, in whichever way we can. Whether that be an act of kindness, a warm smile, a compliment, or simply being present for someone who needs us today.

You never know how much someone might need you, or how much your small gesture will mean to someone else.

Let us look on the bright side of life, and acknowledge the good…

 

Here are some inspiring facts about our world changing for the better you may not have heard about:

• Brazil started a project to plant 73 million trees, the largest tropical reforestation project in history!
• The International Energy Agencyannounced that nearly 1.2 billion people around the world have gained access to electricity in the last 16 years.
• The cost of solar and wind power got more than 25% cheaper in 2017, helping us shift to global clean energy faster.
• In Saudi Arabia women no longer need male permission to travel or study. 
• China has invested more than $100 billion into treating and preventing water pollution, and launched nearly 8,000 water clean-up projects in the first half of 2017
• Cancer deaths have dropped by 25% in the United States since 1991, saving more than 2 million lives. Breast cancer deaths have fallen by 39%, saving the lives of 322,600 women. Time

Source: Medium.com

 

When there is faith, hope, and awareness, life can change for the better pretty quickly. It all starts by realizing that we have the power to change our lives through our perspective.

I hope today, you are blessed with abundance and spend every waking moment in a state of peace, love, and gratitude. And remember that beauty is a way of being, it’s about being joyful, compassionate, and appreciative of the beauty found in the present moment.

May you be present of the beauty that surrounds you today, and every day.