Here’s why.
Whatever you do, don’t think of chocolate cake. Were you thinking of chocolate cake before? No?
Really, don’t think about chocolate cake.
mmmmmmmmm..........
Weren’t able to stop thinking about it, were you?
…
Now, think about the most negative event in your life. Were you thinking about it before? No?
Really, don’t think about the most negative event in your life.
Weren’t able to stop thinking about it, were you?
…
The point is, when you try to block out negative thoughts, you end up thinking about them more. The harder you try, the more you do it.
…
The solution is to balance how you think about negative thoughts. If you are seeing something in a positive light as well as a negative light and you have room for even more ways to perceive it, you are engaging in realistic thinking. My cheating way to get a positive from a negative goes as follows:
Think about the negative event. On a scale of 1-10, 10 best, 1 worst, where do you feel you are?
Ask yourself the question, “Why isn’t it worse?” If you can’t think of any reasons, respond with, “I could be dead, toothless, sleeping in the cold right now, or Republican.”
Yes, I’m a Democrat.
Now where are you on the scale of 1-10? Any better?
The key is to have many ways of looking at something negative. If you think of something in a negative way and that way only, you are seeing things in a very unhealthy way. Look at it in positive as well as negative ways, and you’ll have many options for how to deal with it and you’ll feel better.
Now, don’t just think about chocolate cake, go and get some.
