Stressed Out? Use These 5 Smart Ways To Clear Your Brain Of Negative Thoughts

Maybe you are stressed out; maybe you are going through a rough patch. Or maybe you are going through a major life change, such as a new job, a new relationship, anything. Or maybe you are still feeling the ripple effects of an emotionally significant event- basically, you don’t seem to be able to get it off your mind. Maybe there’s just too much going on in your life and you need to calm your thoughts, relax, and get a sense of mental peace before you can go on. Even if it’s just one of the reasons above or a combination, you still need to do some mental decluttering to find your balance.

Use your brainpower and follow these five easy steps!

1. Remember that no matter what, you have power. You have the unique, one-of-a-kind power to choose how to respond to life’s hassles and difficulties. Correct, you can’t eliminate hassles, difficulties, or stressful “stuff” of any kind; but that doesn’t matter. What really matters is your ability to detect the negative thoughts that create a sense of emergency and make your internal alarm system go off. What really matters is to have a sense of control over your life and the feeling that you can choose your reactions and actions. Sounds too theoretical? There’s a simple notion behind it- control your negative thoughts and voila! You take control of your mind and life!

2. Stop forcing yourself to stop thinking negative thoughts! Most people say “But I tried to stop making negative thoughts and it didn’t work; I even tried to force myself not to think these thoughts and they still came back.” True, this method doesn’t work! There’s a different thing you can do to eliminate negative thinking.

3. Allow yourself to think negative thoughts; in fact, think as many of those as you can! Sounds crazy? That’s just the first part of what you need to do. Wait till the next part of the assignment.

4. Write down your negative thoughts. That’s the second part. Now the trick is to write your negative thoughts down. On a piece of paper, or small scraps of paper, or index cards. Just pile them up. One negative thought per strip of paper. As many as you can. Go fast! Even better, set your timer for five minutes, and keep writing, without stopping to check spelling or anything. Just keep writing. Even better if you can do it by hand, as this way you make your brain work in unison and at a deeper level.

5. Destroy the negative thoughts you ‘ve just jotted down using scissors, shredder, and wastebasket. After you are done writing, look at your pile of written negative thoughts. Acknowledge them. Then proceed to tell them goodbye and start ripping off the paper. “Goodbye, negative thought about this ….” (insert your thought); “Goodbye, negative thought about that….” (insert your thought). I am serious. Then place all this paper on the recycle bin. To be environmentally friendly.

Now you’re done! You have just completed an act of mental decluttering. You are stress-free. Enjoy your life!