Controlling our emotions is hard, if not impossible.
Nevertheless, learning how to control what sentiments enter our minds is possible for everyone out there. At the very least, we can nurture the positive thoughts while paying no mind to the pessimistic ones.
Our feelings are rarely given the attention they deserve, even though figuring out what those emotions mean and why we are experiencing them in a certain way might help us to gain a better understanding of our psyche.
While our emotions can’t be controlled directly, we can learn to accept them by acknowledging that positive and negative sensations will continue to come and go throughout our whole life, since that’s a crucial part of human existence.
How to control your mind from unwanted thoughts?
- Identify your negative thoughts
The first step toward building a more positive mindset is identifying and, consequently, getting rid of unwanted thoughts.
What are your negative convictions or thinking patterns? About what subject do you have those antagonistic ideas? Are these sentiments constantly in your mind, or only occurring when you are in a specific negative mental state, such as when you are tired, or when you had an unfavorable experience during your day?
These are all possible questions that you desperately need to ask yourself to discover what those unfavorable patterns are and to figure out what they’re trying to tell you.
Formulate your pessimistic beliefs as precisely as possible. This way, you’re giving yourself the best possible chance to fix these counterproductive reflections and the possible lies you are inadvertently telling yourself.
- Realize when you’re experiencing those negative thoughts
It’s impossible to fix something when you don’t even realize it’s broken.
That’s why we need to acknowledge when we’re having these negative concepts if we want to learn how to control and protect our minds from unwanted content.
You’ll need to recognize when those detrimental thoughts arise to turn your negative attitude around into a more realistic and productive state of mind.
That’s because there’s a chance that those cynical views you deem to be true are straight-up lies, inaccurate, or only present when a specific topic comes up.
- Identify the possible lies
“Are my negative thoughts realistic, or am I being overly critical of myself?”
This is the main question to ask yourself to determine the possible deceptions and errors in your thinking processes. You may be a perfectionist or too self-critical out of fear or insecurity.
This may lead to faulty thinking and is precisely why we need to weed out the potential delusions in our minds.
- Rephrase or replace negative thoughts
If your thoughts are overly self-damaging, then you should make it a point to reword them more realistically and affirmatively.
An example of a negative formulation is, “I’m useless since I executed that task horribly.” A more positive and practical way of saying this would be, “I didn’t do the task as well as I would’ve liked, but I still managed to do it, and I will do a better job next time.”
This creates a positive feedback loop that serves as a foundation to alter these unsupportive beliefs for the better.
If you happen to find that your notions are wrong, then you should just abandon them altogether to make room for a more correct worldview.
- Monitor your thoughts
Keep track of the cognitive content that enters your mind. See if you have effectively replaced your old, negatively formulated thoughts with more hopeful and constructive ones.
Check if they’re factual and if there is something you can do to reword them more productively.
Monitoring yourself is the best way to make sure you are doing everything you can to keep the poor beliefs out and to keep your mind in a healthy place.
Armed with this knowledge, controlling adverse thoughts becomes a realistic possibility if you decide to apply it. Because knowing without truly understanding makes it hard to resolve the issue, never mind preventing the same mistake from happening again in the near or distant future.
Positive thinking tips
- Think positive rather than negative
Our first positive thinking tip is… thinking more positively! Most of you are probably thinking, “Thanks, Captain Obvious.” But it can be as simple as looking at the bright side of life. Because what we nurture will grow. That’s true in nature, but also in our brains.
Even though this advice is so simple that it’s almost laughable, it’s not something all of us utilize, nor is it always easy to apply.
I know I haven’t in the past, and when I started focusing on the good things in my existence, no matter how small they were, my mood improved instantly.
- Preoccupy your mind with positive thoughts and goals
Seize your mind with enjoyable, constructive thoughts.
When life isn’t being too kind to you, and you’re head deep into trouble, it can be helpful to preoccupy your mind with affirmative substance, and by carrying out things you enjoy and are passionate about.
Keeping your psyche busy with a hobby you love, like painting, soccer, or even just socializing with friends, for example, will help to take your mind off the unfavorable events you are currently going through.
- Practice a form of mindfulness
Thinking can be exhausting. And we all need downtime occasionally to recover and recharge our batteries.
A lot of us tend to dwell in the past or worry about the future that’s yet to come, never taking the time to live in the here and now while being unable to fully take in and enjoy the moment.
Mindfulness can help you calm your psyche by relaxing intrusive and unwanted thoughts. This is accomplished through a large variety of techniques, such as relaxation and breathing exercises, to give you an idea.
- Exercise
Exercising releases endorphins that can be considered our “happiness hormones.” They make us experience positive emotions, and the same effect can also be noted when consuming alcohol or any other drugs, for that matter.
Nevertheless, I would advise exercising rather than doing drugs, since these aren’t sustainable treatment options in the long run. Working out not only helps us to keep our minds straight, but it also aids in keeping our bodies in shape.
The quote, “A healthy mind in a healthy body,” holds merit after all.
How do our thoughts influence our emotions?
Our thoughts directly influence our emotions. And negative thinking is oftentimes not true, exaggerated, and most certainly not helpful.
Adverse persuasions typically arise out of our overly critical inner self. For instance, a pessimistic and cynical person will probably pay too much attention to their unfavorable experiences in life.
As a result, they’re more likely than not to go through antagonistic and destructive feelings if left unchecked, such as anger, jealousy, and even resentment.
This is why I advocate keeping a positive outlook on life. Because you will inevitably attract what you decide to focus on.
Conclusion
Learning how to control unwanted thoughts is necessary to lead a contented, fulfilling life.
Changing our perception of the world is doable and well within our reach. Yet, it’s a daunting challenge and gets increasingly more difficult depending on the number of pessimistic thoughts and events we have been through during our lifetimes. That’s because traumatic experiences take time and effort to heal appropriately.
Remember to keep those affirmative notions flowing since they will lead to an optimistic, confident, and happy person. And while happiness might be a fleeting feeling, a sense of contentment can last you a whole lifetime.
