Negative? Why is it so Easy… To be Negative in Life?
How many truly positive people do you know right now?
I’m not talking about the over-the-top positive, the over-the-top cheerleader type, the so over-the-top positive person that you know it can’t be real.
I’m talking about the everyday person who is able to flow with life, without getting caught into the vortex of negative conversations daily.
How many people like this do you know?
For me? Even in the work I do? There are very few people who are authentically happy because it’s so easy to go into a negative mindset.
And why is that?
Even though I’m a fan of positive thinking, positive thinking cannot, long-term anyway, overturn a negative thought process, victimhood, arrogance, or conceit.
So, negative thinkers don’t become negative thinkers simply because they don’t know how to think positively, it goes much deeper than that.
So let’s take a look at some of the reasons why it’s so easy to be negative in life, especially right now:
Number One. The amygdala. The amygdala is a portion of the brain, that handles the “flight, fight, or freeze response“, to the outside world.
Now, during the caveman time, the amygdala was on fire 24 hours a day!
There was always fear about animals, other caveman stealing their wives. There were all kinds of natural fears so they were always in the mood to either fight, run, or freeze.
In today’s society, the amygdala still plays a role, but for people who do not pay close attention to what they watch, read, and listen to, the mind can be filled with fear and negativity, and the amygdala can start to react almost like there was a Tyrannosaurus rex chasing us!
Without learning how to regulate our emotions, the amygdala can actually keep us in a state of anxiety, which in turn, becomes a negative mindset.
We always say the statement in our client sessions: the unaccompanied mind will resort to negativity in a heartbeat.
The unaccompanied mind is the mind left alone in this world, to watch, read and listen to anything that might seem interesting at the moment, even if it’s in the background, but could have real negative effects on our attitude in a very short period of time.
Never leave your mind unaccompanied!
Focus. Pay close attention to the following steps.
Number Two. What we read, watch and listen to has everything to do with a positive, or negative, mindset.
I worked with a veteran a year ago, who had an extremely negative mindset, and at first, he thought it was because of the experiences of war, PTSD, and more.
And part of it was because of what he had gone through in the military.
But when we started writing down every day what he watched, listened to and what he was reading it was all filled with conspiracy theories, arguments, and negativity!
He was shocked. He considered himself an average everyday American, just watching the news, passing time, listening to talk radio, without any notion that the programs he’s watching were programming him to be negative in nature.
Number Three. It’s almost impossible to be positive in nature when you’re surrounded by negative, highly opinionated, arrogant, or righteous individuals.
Who you hang out with is crucial when it comes to your attitude.
Make a list of people that you communicate with every two weeks, via text, phone, email, or in person.
Next to each of them, write out the answer, are they more positive or negative in nature?
When you look at the end result you might find it’s time to find a few new friends.
Number Four. The subconscious mind! OK, this is serious stuff.
If you’re like many of us, and for the last number of years you’ve been paying close attention to the ridiculousness of the politics in Washington, the craziness that’s happened over conspiracy theories with the pandemic, and all of the false information and questionable information that is so easily spread around the Internet, you have implanted in your brain nothing but negativity, judgment, and divisiveness.
So the subconscious mind isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just regurgitates whatever we feed it!
So one of the greatest problems we see in people who are negative in nature, is that they continue to fill their subconscious mind with negativity, and of course the subconscious is just going to give it right back to us.
So how do we turn from a negative attitude to a positive one?
Number One. Cut out all evening, afternoon, morning news.
I shouldn’t have to explain the power behind this one move.
Number Two. The first hour of every day should have no electronics, no computers, no radio, no television… Nothing but you, nature, or a book!
Or maybe a journaling book as well.
The bottom line? The first hour of every day in our opinion, to have the best shot of a positive mindset is filled with motivational readings from a book, or spiritual readings from a book, prayer, meditation, and journaling.
Number Three. Surround yourself with people who choose not to gossip, who choose not to go into conspiracy theories, who choose not to argue over the news, who choose not to argue….!
I mentioned above one of the veterans I worked with, and the challenges to keep a positive mindset.
We have created a program for all veterans and all active military including their families, that is a weekly inspirational program, highly confidential, to help everyone who has any connection with the military move forward in life during these really challenging times.
This program is FREE for a limited time (first 1000 sign ups)! https://www.davidessel.com
The day to begin to change your attitude is not tomorrow, it’s right now.
The benefits of a more positive attitude include an enhanced immune system, better sleep, less anxiety, depression, and frustration!
If the above statement doesn’t inspire you to change your ways, you may be stuck in a negative mindset for the rest of your life.
The great news? The option is yours. Let’s go.“
David Essel‘s work has been endorsed by many individuals, like the late Wayne Dyer, and celebrity Jenny McCarthy has said “David Essel is the new leader of the positive thinking movement.“
His work as a counselor and minister has been verified by so many organizations such as Psychology Today, Therapy Tribe, Theravive, and marriage.com has verified David as one of the top counselors and relationship experts in the world.
To work with David one on one from anywhere, please visit David Essel | Author | Counselor | Motivational speaker