Have you ever wished you were thinking about things other than the negative thoughts that are running through your head? From serious issues to day-to-day stresses, when there is an unwanted thought floating around it feels like there is a battle going on in your mind and it can be very distracting.
While it is difficult to get rid of them, these nagging thoughts are not impossible to eliminate. Here are some tips to free your busy mind:
1. Distract Yourself
The quiet moments are the times when your mind can really go into overdrive so instead of allowing yourself to go into a negative whirlpool, try distracting yourself. Watch a movie or read a book. Or, get outside and take a walk or play sports in the park. Challenging your body and your mind will help clear the unwanted thoughts because you won’t have time to focus on the negativity.
2. Take a Nap
Deep sleep shuts down your thought processes and sends you into dreamland. A good nap allows you to recover your mind and give yourself a new boost of energy. If you a feeling a bit obsessed about a negative thought, the peaceful relaxation will do you good.
3. Write it Down
Writing is free therapy for a worried mind. It is a great space to share your preoccupied thoughts so you can transfer them from your mind to paper. It is an effective way to erase the mind garbage. Remember you are writing to express and not impress. This is not a homework assignment!
4. Find a Confidante
Instead of trying to control your thoughts, confess them to someone you can trust. Likely the conversation will provide advice and then fade quickly as you move onto a new topic…and just like that, the pesky thought can be gone!
5. Change your Attitude
If you are being real with yourself, thoughts can come back depending on the meaning you previously gave to them. To get rid of the thought you need to change your attitude to “don’t care.” Of course this is easier said than done, but it will make all of the difference in ignoring the pesky thoughts. How can you do this? Literally say your thoughts out loud and say that you don’t care out loud as well. It will help, promise!
Do you have any tips on how to get rid of the annoying negative thoughts? Share them below.
Oh man, I hae to watch myself in the over thinking…it’s so easy to just go over things I’m worried about in my mind over and over. Sometimes writing is really helpful. I was worries about something and my life coach advised me to try writing both a best and worst case scenario dialogue of a conversation I was agonizing about that I needs to have with someone. It really helped me clarify the situation and figure out what I should do so I could stop fretting.
Talking to my mom helps a lot! Mom’s always cure everything!