My journey out of negativity

Sometimes it happens, I’m doing something and negativity strikes like a lightning bolt. Today I’ll try to take you through my process out of that state of mind.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/restlessglobetrotter/2654986305/

Negativity strikes again

It’s been a while since the last time I pushed myself into a negative situation deliberately, and yesterday I did it three times: first, I tried to write about why I don’t like Klout and trying to make sense of their system made me pretty angry. While being angry,  I logged into msn and started a conversation with a former colleague who reminded me of my dark ages: the office. By the time I went back to writing, I was filled with frustration and completely blocked, but kept on smashing my head against the wall.

And then it hit me: that’s how it happens, negativity has sucked me into a warped state of mind.

All you need is love a clear mind

Once you’ve opened a door to one negative thought, the rest come along and make themselves at home inside your head. And everything is wrong, nothing works, people hurt, life is unfair. But everything is just how you want it to be… You don’t like it? Change it. You can’t change it? Think again. You might be expecting to snap your fingers and land in the perfect situation, but that’s not how change works.

Sometimes you’ll be able to modify a situation or push for a different outcome, but there will be times when things are out of your reach. And that’s the exact moment when half of the people automatically go back to the gloomy tunnel, but here’s where my journey out of negativity starts:

Identify your state of mind
Go outside your head, walk away from your life and take a look from the distance: it’s much easier to see what’s really going on when you’re far from your messy feelings and thoughts.

What’s going on VS your reaction
How serious is it? Are you certain that there’s nothing you could do about it? Is it possible that anxiety is messing with you? It’s amazing how facing the conflicts with a patient mind puts everything into perspective. Half of my negative thoughts are tied to my inability to understand that there’s a time and a space for everything.

Behind a different lens
Now that you have identified your state of mind and weighted the situation with a clear head, you’ll probably find yourself looking through a different lens. That’s my last stage before getting out of the negative hole I’ve jumped into, you’ll notice I’m relaxed and determinated to face what’s been bugging me.

Recalculating route

So there I was, having a conversation with someone who just reminded me of those miserable times when I was surrounded by dark-minded people and living violent situations on a daily basis. Only when I realized what I was triggering, the talk took a different course and ended up being quite enjoyable actually.

The blog post needed to go. My husband said “tomorrow you’ll have a fresh start”, and he was right. It was a matter of recalculating my route, as if I were a GPS.

Negativity sucks, positivity attracts

We are a product of our thoughts,  “be careful what thoughts you allow to land in your life, as they determine the paths that we take”, said the wise Leanne in her blog a couple of days ago. Don’t get stuck in regrets, demands and complaints, you’ll end up falling to the spiral of negativity that won’t take you anywhere but down.

And all this to say that I’m just starting with blogging so sometimes I get frustrated, but I’ll overcome it :)