Negative Thoughts - How to Recognize Them

Negative thoughts do nothing good for us. They do not inspire, motivate, or uplift us. In fact, they do quite the opposite. They are easy to spot though because thoughts have a way of manifesting into our physical life. So essentially, if you want your life to become more positive then you have to stop thinking negative thoughts. And to do that, you have to recognize the negative ones and replace them with the positive ones.



There are 3 things to watch for that will instantly let you know if your thought is negative.



How You Feel



Your feelings are directly attached to your thoughts. It’s impossible to be thinking negative thoughts and feel really good at the same time! Try it and you will see. So a major sign that you are thinking negative thoughts is how you feel.



If you are depressed, angry, sad, mad, jealous, or any other negative emotion, then check your thoughts. Chances are they are causing the feelings. Once you recognize the source thought of those feelings you can replace it with a more positive thought.



How You Act



Your thoughts also affect the way you act. If you find that you are irritable with others or doing things in an angry manner then chances are your thoughts are negative.



To spot this try viewing yourself as someone else would. Picture how you would look to someone else, and whether you would look angry or miserable in their eyes, and you will see how ridiculous you look if you are being negative. Once you can see how negative you are you will want to turn your thoughts into positive ones.



How Other People React To You



If you only do one thing to recognize your negative thoughts, this should be it. There are so many negative people out there oblivious to what their negative thoughts are doing to other people. They put on the blinders and walk through life expressing their ill thoughts and dragging others down with them.



It’s true, negative thoughts also have a way of slipping out of our mouths in conversations, but if we are conscious of it then we don’t have to say it. "I hate work!" or "This is stupid!" or "I’m so fed up with this!" are all common complaints that stem directly from our thoughts.



If you find that people grow tired around you quickly then you may be dousing them in negativity. You are literally sucking away their energy. If you find that people don’t respond positively to what you are saying then you are probably coming across as negative. Perhaps the biggest sign is if you notice that people rarely smile or laugh around you. If they instead look sad, angry, or fearful in your company, then this should be a huge wake up call to fix the way you think and view situations.



Remember if your thoughts are negative then you are going to play them out with your feelings, actions, and the way you interact with others. So strive to feel good, act with enthusiasm, and make people laugh – then you will know your thoughts have taken a turn for the better.



Kari's website Manifest Connection is a personal development website geared to helping people find their happiness and move forward positively in their life.