In no way can somebody determine the actions you take. This statement is to help people understand that even if you feel like you have no control, even if you feel like your voice is to small to be heard, no one can take your ability to make your own decisions. I am a firm believer in creating your own fortune, whether that be good or bad. The mindset you carry around between your ears can make or break your chances of success that day. Always strive to possess a positive mindset. One that allows you to always feel in control of your emotions, your thoughts, and in result, your actions. Always strive to tune out a negative mindset. A negative mindset, a negative thought more commonly, is very infectious. A single moment where you make the decision to respond positively, negatively or not at all can determine how you feel the rest of the day. The reality of this though, is that no single thought should determine the outcome of your day, being good or bad. We all too often don't allow this to be true. We get so caught up on one feeling, one thought or one action, that we knowingly, or sometimes subconsciously, let it control how we interpret the next situation we are faced with that day. Consider handling every situation, everyday, as though someone had just pushed that one button that gets you going. You'd be mad at the world and every thing in it! This is what it means to let negative thoughts consume you.
When a negative thought lingers in your head, it is because you, and only you, won't allow a positive one to stomp it out. Make your thoughts challenge the existing negative ones, not succumb to them. A way to do this, quite simply, is to consider other perspectives around you. Think about how negative the environment you're putting yourself in currently is, and think about a time when the environment around you was an easier load to bear. Most people will, every now and again, subconsciously remind themselves of a positive memory. Take that moment and think about how happy it makes you when you do this. Sometimes you get so tickled by these memories, so happy, that you literally smile. If memories can incite such happiness, then why can't the way you interpret current situations, good or bad, do the same? I am here to tell you they can, from experience, not through a psychological study, but through human trial and error. Consider the awesome stuff, or even the neutral stuff, that makes you happy. These things are always associated with positive thoughts. Traumatic or otherwise negative experiences tend to be associated with negative thoughts. When I truly acknowledged this, I instantly understood that all of those negative experiences were the root of the negative thoughts that consumed my mind in the moment. Stepping outside of the 'moment' is the key to considering other perspectives as suggested above.
Realizing how much damage my present negative thoughts are affecting me, not my past experiences, I started applying a positive outlook to those memories, instead of negative ones. Doing this sometimes feels impossible to accomplish. But then again, is that not only because of how you're thinking about the situation?
Some other thoughts to consider is that negative thinking is a direct side effect of overthinking. If you consistently find yourself overthinking, just as when thinking negatively, remove yourself from the moment, take a breather! Always remember that no matter how bad the moment is, your future does not have to be. You can know this to be true if, when thinking about your future, you reinforce all of the positive possibilities, while denouncing all of the negative ones. It may seem like you are doing this in vain at the beginning, but just like anything else, positive or negative, it becomes addicting. If you become addicted to a positive mindset, you will control your own fate, and you will seriously FLY in the modern America we millennials are seemingly condemned to.
