You need to apply the principles of science to your own thought process. The first step is awareness. The second step is answering negative thoughts. The third step is taking action. Let’s cover these one at a time.
Step One: Awareness. Bring the unfocused, negative thoughts to the surface, to your awareness. This may require some effort because these thoughts tend to be well-disguised. Try using instant replay. As soon as you find yourself responding in a negative way, think back to what just crossed your mind, what you just said to yourself. This will take practice. But it is worth it.
Step Two: Answering Negative Thoughts. Now that you have identified and clarified the negative thought patterns, you can answer them. Do this by asking yourself good questions. Become thorough, concise, and specific in your questions. Ask yourself for evidence, identify the facts, and find the distortions. Look at your thoughts through a microscope.
Step Three: Taking Action. After probing and answering your negative thoughts, you must act on the new thoughts and beliefs. Test them to see if they are really true. This will take time, but you are worth it.
Complete the BECOMING A POSITIVE PERSON exercise.
Start by identifying twelve negative thoughts. For each thought, determine which distortion is represented, decide on an alternative thought, and find an action you will use to test it. If you find you have more than twelve, use the same format.
Negative thought:______________________________________
Which distortion does it represent?_________________________
Alternative thought:_____________________________________
Action I will use to test it:_________________________________
Copyright 2011 Lynn Borenius Brown
OnlineandTelephoneCounseling.com
Sometimes it is just very difficult to be a positive person, especially if you are under a lot of stress from school or work. But your exercises and tips look great and will help a lot! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeletePatricia, Thank you for your kind comment!
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