Tips on Giving up Pessimistic Thinking habits

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“I have not ceased being fearful, but I have ceased to let fear control me. I have accepted fear as part of life specifically fear of change and fear of the unknown; and I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says, turn back, turn back, you’ll die if you venture too far.” ~ Erica Jong.

Giving up your habitual inaccurate pessimistic thinking habits is a very challenging process. This is because you are comfortable with them and it is always difficult to give up the familiar for the unfamiliar. I commented on this in a previous article and several readers wrote me indicating that they experienced this challenge too. One trick I use to overcome that reluctance to give up the comfortable negative thinking is to force myself to evaluate the outcome of my thinking while I am still in the early stages of the thought process.

I ask myself the following questions:

• What kind of thoughts will I end up thinking if I continue thinking this way?
• How will I end up feeling?
• What will I end up doing?

The answer is inevitably that I will end up thinking very gloomily about not just the particular situation, but also about my life as a whole. I will probably end up arguing with someone I love, perhaps having negative interactions with them for days, and feeling miserable, sad, depressed or worried. 

Considering the outcome helps me to realize that it is not a place I want to go to. I do not wish to feel those negative emotions or think those negative thoughts or make the situation worse by my negative actions. At that point I realize that I have the power to continue thinking along these lines or to actively choose to change my thinking. As uncomfortable as the new unfamiliar optimistic thinking is, it will generate a better, more positive outcome for me.

The best motivation to encourage yourself to give up your inaccurate pessimistic thinking is the knowledge that eventually you will completely replace the old thinking with the new one. Thinking realistically and optimistically will become automatic and you will respond to adversity in an entirely new way. It will become as effortless and comfortable as your current negative pessimistic thinking is now. It is a process that will take some time but it will happen.

So start now on your journey to replace your negative pessimistic thinking habits with positive optimistic thinking habits. 

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Related Articles:

• How to become an Optimist - Part I
• How to become an Optimist Part II: Disputing Pessimistic Beliefs
• How to become an Optimist Part III: Avoid Thinking Errors
• How to be Happy - Training yourself to enjoy life
• The Power of Realistic Positive Thinking
• Your Capacity for Change
• Optimism vs. Pessimism
• The Different Explanatory Styles of Optimism and Pessimism
• Coping with Stress - Part I
• How to Fight Depression Naturally

Posted in A New Start, Choices, Depression, Optimism and Positive Thinking, Self Discipline |

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This entry was posted on Sunday, September 24th, 2006 at 8:19 am and is filed under A New Start, Choices, Depression, Optimism and Positive Thinking, Self Discipline . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.