NEGATIVE THINKING - CAUSES, TYPES, EFFECTS AND SUGGESTIONS

For every action we do, there are two possibilities. Either things may go according to our plan and we will succeed in our attempt or things may get worse and we may fail in our attempt. Failure is just a process which helps us to know about our shortcomings thereby providing us the stepping stones for achieving the next time. Either we win or fail, we will always learn. So, the first step to victory is participating. But a majority of people are caught up from participating by the most dangerous process in any human, the Negative thinking. Negative thoughts act as a chain that holds a person from working and prevent him from demonstrating his full potential. 

CONTENTS

• Why do people have negative thoughts?
• Seven Types of Negative Thoughts
• Effects of Negative Thoughts
• How to overcome negative thoughts?

Why do people have negative thoughts?

People tend to have negative thoughts on different occasions. A few were listed below.

Fear

Fear of failure while trying a new thing for the first time will automatically lead to negative thinking. Fear is just a stimulus and it may be good or bad according to the situation. But the response of our brain to the fear is critical. Most people will often feel afraid to begin any work. But once they commence, they’ll become courageous and will fear no more.

Overthinking 

Thinking about “how your parents will react on seeing your grades in the tests that you’ve never attended” is always useless. Focussing on the future will always lead to negative thinking for most of them. Our brain is a complex organ that has the capacity to work miraculously like bringing back worst memories in our dreams to frighten negative people, while it blesses positive minded people by showering all the good memories. Our thought process has a great impact on our every day activities. 

Seven Types of Negative Thoughts

Basically, there are seven types of negative thoughts that play a major role in demotivating a person’s life. They are as follows.

MENTAL FILTERING

This is the condition where people see only the negative possibility of an event or happening. He/she focuses only on the bad things which may happen. For example, if he decides to start a new business, he will only focus on risks and losses which may happen instead of focussing on making profits.

BLACK AND WHITE THINKING

In this condition, people see things in both extreme corners. That is, either too good or too bad. For example, if he attends a party, he will either call it as the best one or the worst one in feedbacks. This thinking is a hurdle in exploring the reality. One cannot rate any event as the best or the worst as even better things can happen in a worse event. 

GENERALIZATION

This type of people blames everyone or everything that belongs to a particular type if he was affected by any small portion of it. For example, if one doesn’t like one dish made of paddy, he hates all type of dish made of paddy. In this case, we can take ourselves as an example too. If we hate a single food in a restaurant, we will naturally develop a feeling that every food served in this restaurant will be awful. Never judge too quickly by taking just a glimpse. 

MIND READING

In this condition, people guess what the others may think, No one knows exactly what others may be thinking. They will make a guess but it won’t be correct all the time. This leads to misunderstanding and breakage of relationships.

EMOTIONAL THINKING

This is a condition where people think emotionally. This is the most dangerous method where this method has enough power to kill a person. It is said that increased continuous thinking while you are sad or depressed will most probably bring suicidal thoughts. Never let your emotions control you. Also, when a person is angry, most relations tend to get broken as people are easily obsessed with emotional feelings. 

PERFECTIONIST THINKING

This type of people always wants to be perfect in whatever he or the society does. For example, sometimes he become angry on his partner for silly things like not waking up early or adding extra sugar in coffee/tea etc. because he wants everything to be perfect. It is hard to find peace and relaxation for this kind of person. Every child struggle to walk perfectly at the very first time. It is difficult to be perfect always. And that’s why it is said that, “Humans make mistakes”. 

PERSONALISATION

This is the type of thinking where a person assumes that every bad thing happening in the surrounding will also happen to him. For example, if his neighbour dies due to certain kind of disease, he will think that the exact disease will affect him too. If this type of thinking affects any person, he cannot find peace in this world. 

Effects of Negative Thoughts

1. Continuous negative thoughts may increase the risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease and other memory-related problems. 
2. Negative thoughts will lead to demotivation and inferiority complex
3. Negative thinking increases stress and leads to unwanted fears and mood disorders. 

 

How to overcome negative thoughts?

A majority of negative thoughts are mainly due to Comparison. Never compare yourself with another person. Everyone is unique in this world with different capabilities. Do things if it makes you happy. According to the proverb “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”, never fear to take a chance in any events. Never believe in lucks. Believe only in hard works. Also, if you’re afraid to do a job, learn it from the professionals of similar field who were afraid before taking the job. Motivation is the pill for overcoming negative thoughts. It may be either Self-motivation or through motivational speakers. It is good to know about the things which may happen if a plan fails. But one should not just focus on them.

CONCLUSION

Never get obsessed with negative thoughts. Prepare for the worst thing which may happen on the path. But always hope for the best. If you find this post useful, share it with your family and friends.