Are you sick of spiraling?

Everyone does it, though we hate to admit it. Sometimes it takes one thing to completely set us off into a negative thought pattern spiral. Thoughts just fly in and out of your mind with no control; before you know it, your day is ruined.

When I was much younger, I was super pessimistic and impatient. The littlest thing could send me into a tailspin. I would lose my sh*t over things more trivial than misplacing my keys (not kidding). All that would do was cause me stress and make me more unhappy; I knew something needed to change. I came to learn that we have more control over our minds than most people think. I learned that I could become calmer, more optimistic, and overall happier by being aware of my thoughts.

But how can you possibly monitor every thought that crosses your mind? The answer is you don’t have to. It’s nearly impossible to stop a negative thought from surfacing. But you can stop yourself from spiraling out of control.

Here’s what you can do:

Rather than monitoring your thoughts, check in with yourself to see how you’re feeling. If you don’t feel good, then you’re feeling bad and negative emotions are present (anger, disappointment, fear, etc.). As soon as you start to feel that way, stop. Don’t allow it to go on any further. Recognize this is not who you are, choose a more positive response, and move on.

Bottom Line:

Take charge of your negative thought patterns by being aware of how you’re feeling. The more you can do that, you’ll be cool as a cucumber and be able to flow with whatever comes your way.