Negative thoughts can ruin your peace, productivity, and personal growth. This is how we stopped letting negative thinking rule our lives and what you can do, starting today, that will help you to do the same.
You may be worried about the future, concerned about the past, or overthinking, which is absolutely destroying your inner peace. This affects your productivity, growth, and personal development.
Here are some strategies and techniques, including mindfulness practices, that we use and that you can implement to overcome negative thinking and build resilience.
First, we need to understand what a thought is. A thought is just a thought—it doesn’t define who you are.
We believe we live in moments, not years or days. In any given moment, you are either fully present and aware of your mind’s freedom, or you’re lost in thoughts. Those thoughts either serve your inner peace or destroy it. This follows the Stoic principles.
When a negative thought arises, pause and ask yourself questions like: Is this true? What evidence do I have that this thought is true? Often, you’ll find the answer is false. Instead, ask yourself, “What’s a more helpful thought?”. When you ask your brain a question, it must come up with an answer. Your peace lies in choosing a better thought over a negative one.
To overcome negative thinking we work on what we call the “MEP” states: mental, emotional, and physical. These states help support stress reduction and mental clarity:
Mental state: This refers to the content you consume daily—whether it’s social media, podcasts, or news. Do an audit of this content. Is it serving your inner peace or destroying it? What you consume becomes part of you. A lot of the time, this will be what is having the biggest impact on your self-talk. We’re become who we surround ourselves with – who are you choosing to spend your time with?
Emotional state: Regulate your emotions through meditation and gratitude. Every morning, instead of immediately checking your phone, meditate for 10 minutes with the help of apps like Calm and Headspace. Focus on your breath, and practice gratitude by verbalising or writing down things you’re thankful for. If this is daunting, start with a 3-minute practice then build up as you gain momentum. Positive psychology shows that this can greatly impact happiness and reduce negative thinking.
Physical state: Movement is essential. Mindfulness can also be practiced through physical activities. Emotion is created by motion. If you ask yourself for a helpful thought while in a lousy state, you’ll get a lousy answer. Exercise is key to putting yourself in a good state, whether it’s going for a walk outside or doing a 30-minute HIIT workout, physical activity releases endorphins, helping to overcome negative thoughts.
Many of our clients at A-Game have followed these techniques and it changed their lives. One good decision leads to another – the compound effect. One of our clients had a lot of negative thoughts about a new business idea. Implementing these strategies helped him tremendously as he realised that it was other people’s opinions that were holding him back. He started journaling and asking, “What’s a more helpful thought?” This shifted his mindset and improved his resilience.
Do you incorporate any of these strategies into your life already? Or do you have other ideas or solutions that have helped with stress reduction and personal development? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
For more advice, find us on YouTube or, take a look at our transformational coaching packages.
Adam Mayhew
