{"id":96201,"date":"2023-04-08T14:35:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-08T18:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=96201"},"modified":"2023-04-11T11:51:35","modified_gmt":"2023-04-11T15:51:35","slug":"overcoming-negative-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/","title":{"rendered":"Overcoming Negative Thoughts: 2 Proven Techniques"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you struggle with negative thoughts? How can you avoid going down the rabbit hole of negative thinking?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all succumb to negative thinking from time to time. When negative thoughts take over, resist entertaining them and take steps to counteract them right away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s how to overcome negative thoughts when they invade your mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Technique #1: Quell Negative Thoughts and Emotions With Positive Affirmations<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In her book Manifest<\/em>, self-development coach Roxie Nafousi explains how to overcome negative thoughts and emotions<\/a> using positive affirmations\u2014statements that encourage positive beliefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To create positive affirmations<\/a>, listen to the limiting beliefs of your inner voice and craft affirmations that state the opposite. For example, if your inner voice is telling you that you\u2019re not good enough, your positive affirmation can be something like \u201cI\u2019m worthy and capable of achieving anything that I dedicate myself to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you notice your inner voice reciting negative thoughts, choose to actively drown them out by reciting positive affirmations in your mind.<\/em> Nafousi notes that this will override your negative inner voice<\/a> and stop it from bringing down your vibration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further, Nafousi recommends reciting positive affirmations aloud<\/em> and integrating this practice into your daily routine. For example, every morning on the way to work, you could recite your list of affirmations: \u201cToday is going to be an amazing day where I maximize my productivity,\u201d \u201cI\u2019m a beautiful and unique person inside and out,\u201d \u201cI\u2019m capable of achieving anything I dedicate myself to,\u201d and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These positive affirmations don\u2019t only<\/em> have to combat your negative inner voice: They can pertain to any area in which you want to improve your confidence. Reciting these affirmations regularly will start to alter your beliefs little by little until the positive statements become personal truths and entirely replace your more negative beliefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technique #2: Turn Jealousy Into Motivation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A second way to overcome negativity is to combat jealousy. Nafousi argues that jealousy is one of the lowest-vibration emotions that people commonly experience. When we see that another person has something that we want, we develop negative feelings toward them and ourselves. We feel resentment toward them because we think they\u2019re better than us, and we feel bad about ourselves because we believe that we\u2019re unworthy or undeserving of gaining what the other person has.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While these responses are natural, they push us farther away<\/em> from gaining the object of our desire because they cause us to emit low vibrations and attract negativity. To overcome the corrupting effect of jealousy, Nafousi argues that we should channel the emotion into positive motivation<\/a><\/strong>\u2014feel happy that another person is experiencing joy and reaching their goals, and channel this emotion into a desire to improve yourself and achieve your<\/em> goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, if you see someone on social media posting about their lovely trip, rather than feeling jealous of them and angry at yourself for not being on vacation, be happy that they\u2019re having a great experience and start working toward your own dream trip.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you struggle with negative thoughts? How can you avoid going down the rabbit hole of negative thinking? We all succumb to negative thinking from time to time. When negative thoughts take over, resist entertaining them and take steps to counteract them right away. Here’s how to overcome negative thoughts when they invade your mind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":44222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,43],"tags":[945],"class_list":["post-96201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology","category-self-improvement","tag-manifest","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nOvercoming Negative Thoughts: 2 Proven Techniques - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Do you struggle with negative thinking? Here are two proven techniques for overcoming negative thoughts when they invade your mind.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Overcoming Negative Thoughts: 2 Proven Techniques\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Do you struggle with negative thinking? Here are two proven techniques for overcoming negative thoughts when they invade your mind.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-04-08T18:35:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-11T15:51:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/resist-negative-influence.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Darya Sinusoid\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46\"},\"headline\":\"Overcoming Negative Thoughts: 2 Proven Techniques\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-08T18:35:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-11T15:51:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/\"},\"wordCount\":511,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/resist-negative-influence.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Manifest\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Psychology\",\"Self-Improvement\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/\",\"name\":\"Overcoming Negative Thoughts: 2 Proven Techniques - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/resist-negative-influence.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-08T18:35:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-11T15:51:35+00:00\",\"description\":\"Do you struggle with negative thinking? Here are two proven techniques for overcoming negative thoughts when they invade your mind.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/resist-negative-influence.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/resist-negative-influence.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":750,\"caption\":\"How to Protect Yourself from Negative Influences\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Overcoming Negative Thoughts: 2 Proven Techniques\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World's Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46\",\"name\":\"Darya Sinusoid\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Untitled-design-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Untitled-design-1.png\",\"caption\":\"Darya Sinusoid\"},\"description\":\"Darya\u2019s love for reading started with fantasy novels (The LOTR trilogy is still her all-time-favorite). Growing up, however, she found herself transitioning to non-fiction, psychological, and self-help books. She has a degree in Psychology and a deep passion for the subject. She likes reading research-informed books that distill the workings of the human brain\/mind\/consciousness and thinking of ways to apply the insights to her own life. Some of her favorites include Thinking, Fast and Slow, How We Decide, and The Wisdom of the Enneagram.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/darya\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Overcoming Negative Thoughts: 2 Proven Techniques - Shortform Books","description":"Do you struggle with negative thinking? Here are two proven techniques for overcoming negative thoughts when they invade your mind.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Overcoming Negative Thoughts: 2 Proven Techniques","og_description":"Do you struggle with negative thinking? Here are two proven techniques for overcoming negative thoughts when they invade your mind.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2023-04-08T18:35:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-04-11T15:51:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":750,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/resist-negative-influence.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Darya Sinusoid","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Darya Sinusoid","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/"},"author":{"name":"Darya Sinusoid","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46"},"headline":"Overcoming Negative Thoughts: 2 Proven Techniques","datePublished":"2023-04-08T18:35:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-11T15:51:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/"},"wordCount":511,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/resist-negative-influence.jpg","keywords":["Manifest"],"articleSection":["Psychology","Self-Improvement"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/","name":"Overcoming Negative Thoughts: 2 Proven Techniques - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/resist-negative-influence.jpg","datePublished":"2023-04-08T18:35:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-11T15:51:35+00:00","description":"Do you struggle with negative thinking? Here are two proven techniques for overcoming negative thoughts when they invade your mind.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/resist-negative-influence.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/resist-negative-influence.jpg","width":1000,"height":750,"caption":"How to Protect Yourself from Negative Influences"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-negative-thoughts\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Overcoming Negative Thoughts: 2 Proven Techniques"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World's Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46","name":"Darya Sinusoid","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Untitled-design-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Untitled-design-1.png","caption":"Darya Sinusoid"},"description":"Darya\u2019s love for reading started with fantasy novels (The LOTR trilogy is still her all-time-favorite). Growing up, however, she found herself transitioning to non-fiction, psychological, and self-help books. She has a degree in Psychology and a deep passion for the subject. She likes reading research-informed books that distill the workings of the human brain\/mind\/consciousness and thinking of ways to apply the insights to her own life. Some of her favorites include Thinking, Fast and Slow, How We Decide, and The Wisdom of the Enneagram.","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/darya\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/resist-negative-influence.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96201"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98132,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96201\/revisions\/98132"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}