The Key to Happiness...

I know the key to happiness.  It's all about how you feel...and how you feel depends on what you are thinking.  So if you can figure out a way to control what you are thinking, you can control how you feel...make sense?  And by extension, we can control our happiness.  Think about this, there are two people, one that you like, admire and look up to.  The other is a person you don't think highly of.  Its best if you think of specific people, right now.  Now, I want you to imagine each of these people asking you to move your car.  Close your eyes and imagine it.  Can you feel the difference in your feelings, just imagining these two people asking you to do a normal activity?  Now pay close attention to the additional, underlying self talk.  For the person you like, there is probably less chatter...the person you dislike, however, has a whole conversation going on...am I right?  Without that underlying self talk, your negative feelings have no fuel, and can't grow.  It's just a matter of catching yourself in the act.  

So what do we do when we catch ourselves in the act of negative thinking?  It's easy to say "stop" but not so easy to do. Your mind can only think about one thing at a time...that's a fact...so the key is to find something else to occupy your mind.  I'll tell you a few things I do that may help you, but quite honestly, you will have to find the trick or tricks that stop your negative thoughts in their tracks.  You've heard this before, but I like to use music.  Just listening to music is often insufficient because my mind still has room to wander...so I put on head phones and consciously think about each word being sung.   By doing this, I am forced to stop thinking the negative thoughts.  Another trick that works for me is finding something funny to read.  I find reading more "mind occupying" than watching a video, but you may be different.  One of my favorite, immediate cures for negative thoughts is to Google "funny texts".  I find these mistake texts very funny and the result is immediate.  Again, when I am reading these texts, my thoughts are forced to shift from negative to positive.  Find your trick, try different things until you hit upon the best ones for you.  It is so worth it!

There's one more thing I want to say...I find most people are resistant to giving up on their negative thoughts on a topic.  My guess is because these thoughts are our reaction to reality and there is a certain amount of momentum behind them.  So don't worry about trying to change your thoughts on a certain topic...momentum will make it impossible.  For example, when thinking about a person you don't care for, don't waste your time trying to change your thoughts about that person...that will only frustrate you.  Instead, find a way to come to a sudden stop and change direction all together. The jolt from one thought process to another will stop the momentum and clear your mind to make room for happier thoughts.  At first, you will hardly ever catch yourself, but when you do, practice changing the direction of your thoughts.   Don't be hard on yourself...that will only add more negative thinking.  Instead, congratulate yourself on recognizing when you are in a negative momentum.  The more you do it, the easier it will become.  The more you practice this, the happier you will be.  Try it, you will live a happier life...and isn't that worth the effort?