A negative mindset contributes to underperformance in social and real life. Even on days when you can feel like conquering the world, mind negativity is something that can break down the best of intentions.
How we react to certain things and how we move forward depends on one reason—our mind. A mindset can either help you collect memories that you will cherish forever or hold you back, preventing you from ever trying anything worthy.
Negative Mindset Definition
Have you ever struggled with a negative mindset? Getting caught in worry, anxiety, stress, self-esteem issues, low confidence, or even depression are first-hand symptoms of a negative mindset. These dark thoughts contain the kind of power over your life that can magnificently affect your relationships, health, and even work.
Since these thoughts do not have a set time to chill in your mind, they can come up at any time of the day. However, they are known to show up in the worst-case scenarios, which is why people with negative thinking are often perceived as sadistic, pessimistic, overcritical, or judgemental.
Besides, a negative mindset can also lead to minimal self-compassion, dangling motivation, and overall reduced quality of life.
It can be reasonably challenging for a negative person to set and achieve their goals as the minor thing can discourage them from doing what they need to do. Along with themselves, their company can be discouraging for other people as well.
Four Critical Types of Negative Mindset
If you’re suffering because of negative thinking, you must determine what kind of a negative mindset you have. By becoming aware of our own minds, we can scan for errors of judgment, thought patterns, and self-defeating behaviors.
Discovery is an essential step for changing our mindset and breaking free from the bondage of our own heads.
Here are the four most damaging negative mindsets that can quickly sabotage the best of intentions. Can you relate to any of these?
1. The Pessimistic Mindset
According to the American Psychological Association, pessimism can be defined as “the attitude that believes things will go wrong and that peoples’ wishes or aims are unlikely to be fulfilled.”
Having a pessimistic mindset is more like looking at the world with black-tinted glasses. However, according to pessimists (people with a pessimistic personality), it’s a realistic view of life, and not everything is decorated with shiny glitters of positivity.
While some things really are not shiny positive, pessimists tend to expect negative outcomes in every situation and are suspicious when things seem to be doing good.
In the end, pessimists fail to appreciate their qualities and powers and form low esteem as a result. Pessimism is not something people desire to have, and it often comes with negativity, cyclothymia, depression, and other similar mood disorders.
How to fix a pessimistic mindset?
Self-compassion has proven to be one of the best interventions for low confidence, self-worth, and pessimism. However, most people believe that it is self-pity in disguise, which is not valid, of course.
Self-compassion is about accepting that the present time is tough and offering yourself the understanding that you need. Practicing this simple act can help you find the courage to do the right thing.
2. The Fixed Mindset
A fixed mindset can be defined as our inability to change. It can stop us from thinking out of the box and make us have a stagnant thought process for most things in life. A fixed mindset has the power to make our traits and behaviors rigid and unalterable.
Disadvantages that come along with a fixed mindset:
- It diminishes the sense of self-awareness and self-knowledge. You cannot understand yourself better if you’re stuck with a fixed mentality.
- It minimizes opportunities for success as people with a fixed mindset do not take risks that can hurt their comfort zone.
- It is associated with a mediocre life.
- It results in stagnation, and as life should be driven by growth and progress, stagnation leads to a poor-quality life.
How to fix a fixed mindset?
It is impossible to learn about your actual capabilities until you keep trying new things. It is crucial to keep testing your limits and abilities rather than taking a step back from experiences that you’re scared of.
When you start believing that “to fail is to learn,” you may be able to stop taking the same approach to everything and allow yourself to be open to knowledge as it comes your way!
3. Learned Helplessness
When unwanted things happen to us, we like to believe that we would do anything that is necessary to turn the situation towards a good path.
However, that is not the same with people that experience learned helplessness. According to American Psychology Association (APA), learned helplessness is associated with the feeling of giving up and accepting fate when you have no control over what happens.
This kind of helpless mindset makes people see situations as far more catastrophic than they already really are, while also underestimating their own capability to get up and face the challenges.
A helpless mindset is associated with many different psychological disorders such as anxiety, phobias, shyness, loneliness, and depression.
How to overcome learned helplessness?
The best way to fix a helpless mindset is by appreciating your own strengths and talents and reliving the moments that make you proud. This can help you develop some belief in your abilities and eventually have faith in your true power.
If you do not feel courageous enough, it is okay. Lean on the people that care about you, and take support to fight the battles of your life. You do not have to be a lone wolf all the time, and it is okay to have someone who has your back.
4. The Narcissistic Mindset
Braced up by deep-seated insecurities, narcissism is defined as the belief in one’s superiority and importance.
Generally, people with a narcissistic mindset are those who do not look over anything other than their own success, along with an extravagant sense of self-importance. Thinking in such a way influences their decision-making and interactions in various situations.
The sense of “being too good” makes it challenging to learn new things, build and grow relationships, and perform well socially and financially. In the end, narcissism often leads to self-doubt and depression.
Signs that you may be suffering from narcissism:
- Lacking empathy towards other people
- Having a strong sense of self-importance
- Thinking only about yourself
- Constantly craving admiration and acknowledgment
- Exaggerating your skills, abilities, talents, and even accomplishments
- Exploiting others
How to fix a narcissistic mindset?
Fixing a narcissistic mindset can be difficult to complete as narcissists do not want to change or listen to someone over their own beliefs. Narcissists are the only people who can change themselves. So…
Be humble. When you start appreciating the efforts of those who are a part of your life, you’ll naturally be taking some amount of self-superiority off.
Stop Judgements. When your mind is preoccupied with the image of someone you built yourself, you start losing many opportunities that lie around the corner.
How to Change a Negative Mindset to a Positive Mindset?
The primary key to changing your negative mindset is understanding your thought process and then figuring out why you think the way you do. Once you recognize the reasons behind your negative thinking entirely, you can start testing different strategies to change your dark thoughts or at least make them have less of an effect.
Here are five incredible tips for shifting your negative mindset to a positive mindset:
Meditate
Accomplishing a positive mindset is an easy task if you agree to spend minimal time and effort on yourself.
You can cultivate the positive you by getting into the habit of putting 10 minutes aside every day to meditate. If it seems impractical to have an early morning practice, take some time during the day. Best time slots to meditate:
- First thing in the morning (include yoga in your routine if you have time)
- During the lunch break
- Before you go to sleep
- Or any time of the day
Positive thinking is not a mixed state of being cheerful, excited, and joyful all the time. It simply can be defined as an absence of negative thoughts—inner peace. Practicing meditation can be an incredible way of finding your inner peace.
When you feel truly at peace with yourself, your brain will automatically give birth to thoughts stocked with positivity, and your mindset will start to blossom.
Now, meditation doesn’t really mean you have to take a form of straight body posture. It can be as easy & simple as sitting in a comfortable chair and listening to soothing music.
Practice Daily Affirmations
You can use positive affirmations throughout the day, and the more you practice them, the easier a positive mindset will take over the negative one.
What are positive affirmations? Affirmations are statements that can help shift your focus from ascertaining failures and insecurities to your rigid strengths and immense skills.
How can you add affirmations to your life? Start your day by saying these affirmations out loud:
I am happy. I am going to work towards my success today. I am successful at everything I do. I am constantly productive. I always give my best to have respect for my abilities. My work is always appreciated and given positive recognition. I will become a better version of myself today than I was yesterday.
Remember, these affirmations would start to affect you when you practice them consistently. Make this a new habit, and begin practicing positive thinking starting right now!
Understand your Thought Process
One of the first steps towards shifting a negative mindset to a positive mindset is recognizing the way your brain thinks. For example, if you tend to believe that the conclusions of one situation predict the conclusions of all the situations, then you are engaging in “overgeneralization” thinking.
There are various other kinds of thinking, and the best way to identify and treat a definitive thought process is cognitive restructuring.
Cognitive Restructuring (CR) is a psychotherapeutic process that helps people recognize and change their negative thinking patterns like magical thinking, magnification, emotional reasoning, all-or-nothing thinking, which are all commonly associated with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD).
How to practice Cognitive Restructuring step by step:
- Step 1: Calm yourself
If you have negativity going on in your head, that’s stressful and upsetting, calm your mind and body with regular meditation and deep breathing exercises.
- Step 2: Identify your situation
Think of the situations that trigger your negative side.
- Step 3: Analyze your mood.
Recall how you feel when negativity clouds your thoughts.
- Step 4: Recognize automatic thoughts.
Take a piece of paper and write down the immediate or automatic thoughts that show up when you’re feeling negative, such as “No one likes me” or “Am I good enough?”
- Step 5: Get Rational
Once you’ve identified all such unhealthy and problematic thoughts, now it’s time to rationalize why they are problematic in the first place. Look at one of your negative thoughts, and think why it is true, if it really is accurate, and how often it is true.
The idea behind this step is to see how your negative thinking is a cognitive distortion, a state where your mind tries to convince you of something that isn’t really true.
- Step 6: Replace
Spend some time thinking of rational thoughts in place of the cognitive distortion. The idea behind step 6 isn’t to stop the cognitive distortions (as that is our natural behavior) but to catch your mind when you’re distorting reality and replace it with a much more rational thought!
For example, if you catch yourself thinking, “My dad hates me,” you can replace the distortion with something like, “I am not sure whether or not my dad hates, but I do know he hugged me in the morning and promised me to take the family on a trip next month.”
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a state where you purposely focus your attention on the present moments, be aware of where you are and what you’re doing, and not overly reactive to what is going on around you.
It is the practice of disengaging yourself from your emotions and thoughts while looking at them as a mere outside observer.
Mindfulness can empower you to view your thoughts, emotions, and feelings as objects that are floating around you, and you can choose to stop, observe or let them pass away.
When you’re mindful, you can reduce stress, gain insight and awareness through observing your own mind, enhance performance, and increase your attention to others’ well-being. Mindfulness improves your well-being, mental health as well as physical health.
How can you practice mindfulness:
- Pay attention: Try to take out the time to experience things that are around you using all your senses.
- Accept yourself: Know your worth, know that you’re unique, and treat yourself the way you would treat your best friend.
- Mediation: Take 10 mins out daily to meditate.
- Live in the moment: Try to intentionally put forward attention in everything you do and find joy in simple things.
With daily practice of mindfulness, you will start to see positive results within a few weeks or a couple of months.
Gratitude is the season finale.
When you start spending more time in the present moment, the natural outgrowth is gratitude. Expressing gratitude has the power to change your life; that also involves a negative mindset, of course.
Cultivating gratitude does not take any energy or time away, and it has enormous benefits:
- Gratitude opens doors to new relationships.
- Gratitude improves your physical and psychological health.
- Gratitude reduces aggression and enhances empathy.
- Grateful people get better sleep.
- Gratitude improves self-esteem and increases mental strength.
We all have enough time and opportunities to cultivate gratitude. All you have to do is spend a moment realizing everything you have and stop complaining about all the things you want.
Negative Mindset: Q & A
Here are some frequently asked questions that will help you learn more about shifting a negative mindset to a positive mindset.
Question 1: Why am I so negative?
Answer: Ongoing stress and trauma can point you towards a negative outlook on life. While some people are susceptible to negativity because of their genetic makeup, others form a negative mindset after going through a set of bad times.
The best way to stop feeling negative is to practice meditation, mindfulness, and gratitude for everything you have in life.
Question 2: How do I stop thinking so much?
Answer: When you start overthinking, your thoughts become a more significant part of your life than reality itself. The only way to stop overthinking is believing that your thoughts only float around and through your head, and you have the power to stop, identify, and rationalize your thoughts.
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Notice when you’re overthinking. Challenge your thoughts. Keep the focus on a problem-solving mindset. Practice mindfulness. Shift to positivity!
Question 3: How to control your thoughts?
Answer: When unwanted thoughts show up in your mind cloud, it can be really frustrating and stressful. The truth is you’re not alone in wanting to make negative thinking go away!
While mind control belongs to the pages of science, there are still some things you can do to change your mindset. It would take time and effort to control your thoughts, but these six strategies will help:
- Acceptance for unwanted thoughts
- Meditation & mindfulness
- Change your perspective
- Focus on the positives
- Keep a journal
- Work on managing stress
It’s not necessary for you to be psychic to control your thoughts. All that your body and mind need is a bit of patience and consistent practice.