You’re sitting in traffic as you drive to work, and suddenly a thought pops into your head. You go through a scenario of an event that may happen when you arrive at work, and you play out all sorts of emotions, words and outcomes. Moment by moment you get more frustrated and you feel your heart racing. By the time you get to work, you’re pissed off about something that Has. Not. Happened.
Ever do this?
It’s the rapid fire of negative thoughts that grow exponentially. Rather than letting them go right back to where they came from, we validate them.
That’s why I’ve committed these four questions from Byron Katie’s The Work to memory.
- Is it true?
- Can you absolutely know that it’s true?
- How do you react when you believe that thought?
- Who would you be without the thought?
(There’s more to The Work, and I urge you to read more on your own!)
Using these four, easy to memorize, questions, I am usually able to stop myself from digging a deep hole and throwing the person I’m frustrated with in it. And when I release the thought, I’m ready to shift.
Instead of ruminating about something that hasn’t happened, you can take that same energy and focus on the potential of that same situation. Something that might be fantastic or beautiful or life changing. Your mindset opens up for a new path.
And as you reach for the potential of any given situation, you realize you are now managing your thoughts. Your thoughts are no longer managing you.
How do you deal with negative thoughts?
You’ve got this.