~by Debbie Jacobs~
Negative thoughts are just non-productive. They carry emotional upset and waste precious time. Nothing beneficial comes from thinking negatively; it accomplishes nothing and negative thinking is destructive to our life, especially when we base our actions on those thoughts our mind creates.
More on non-productive thoughts include thoughts of guilt. I carried a lot of guilt during a time when both parents had passed and they were constantly on my mind. As much as they were loved, thinking about them was counterproductive to my needs. It’s like being at work and focusing on your personal matters. I had to put those thoughts aside to focus on building my dreams.
“Choose your thoughts, choose your life.” Any thoughts that make us upset, such as regret, shame, guilt, anger, and sorrow, fall under “non-productive”, and you can train yourself to shift right out of them. Or, should I say, shift them right out of your mind. You can’t think of two thoughts at the same time, so would you rather focus on thoughts that move you closer to your dreams, or thoughts that undermine them? You can be spending your time thinking productively on gratitude, goals, strategizing action, and happy thoughts that make you feel good. And when you spend your time thinking productively, that’s when you make your dreams come true. You need something to think about? Think about what you want for your life, not about someone of non-importance who pissed you off or hurt you. What can you gain from that?
Meditation has been a huge component of disciplining the mind. It allows you first to gain control of your thoughts and center them to a quiet place. Once a quiet space is created in the mind, it can grow and become a constant in this busy, chaotic world. Having a quiet space in the mind is a start for inner peace. Maintaining this through meditation will always keep that space, and with the space, the mind won’t get overrun with thoughts. It really is a piece of peace of mind. And “meditation mode” has been very helpful. I use meditation mode to shut it down when my mind starts to get non-productive. Close down the conversation by clearing the mind and silencing all thoughts. Then choose a positive, productive thought to get the mind back on track. People, situations, and things will always be catalysts to get the mind going. It is a constant management of thoughts. So it’s not that non-productive thoughts won’t arise, they just have to be shut down when they do, and managed continuously. Gaining control from the subconscious mind was an epic battle for me, but ultimately it just took time, commitment, and these thinking strategies.
Getting my mind to think more positively was another epic challenge. I used many strategies to become more positive. First of all, I started using daily affirmations. I also reframed my spoken words. For example, I started saying, “yes” instead of “no.” My inclination was to say no, but part of this transformation of moving to positivity required my commitment to being open and saying yes to things I wanted to say no to. My inclination to say yes had to be more important than my inclination to say no. It’s about changing the wiring; I’ve been wired to say no based on my conditioning. Finally, I had to reframe my thoughts and learn new coping skills like assertion, communication, and anger management.
Meet the Author: Debbie Jacobs
Debbie Jacobs
Debbie is a positivity mindset, transformational life coach, focusing on success and happiness. She’s been a certified Heal Your Life Workshop Leader, based on Louise Hay’s teachings, and is currently pursuing certification from the Napoleon Hill Foundation. Debbie studies the many principles of Universal Law and teaches alignment as fundamental happiness practices. Debbie is also a LifeSprings/Mastery graduate and developed the My Inner Voice App, designed exclusively for her coaching programs. For more information, visit her “My Inner Voice app page” on Facebook.
