You might have often heard from your parents or certain spiritual gurus that there are no good or bad people in the world; their thoughts which culminate into negative actions are what make them good or bad. We all have negative emotions. Surely it depends on the intensity of negative thoughts, our state of mind which decides the action, the environment we are brought up in and various other emotions like a sense of failure or jealousy. Just the way staying happy and contented is a choice, clouded with negative emotions is also a choice. One would often hear well-wishers suggesting to take the thoughts off your mind. But is it effective? We all know, No! The more we try to force a negative thought out of our head, the more we start thinking about it and wish to materialize them into actions. Clearing the mind of negative thoughts is more important than shutting them down and keeping them dormant. Here are few ways by which you can get rid of negative emotions.
Confront the Emotions
Instead of suppressing the emotions, face them. Take a while and consider the situation giving rise to a negative emotion and the negative thoughts. The first step of getting rid of negative thoughts is realizing that you have them. Most of the times, you would find that you are stressing on your emotions for nothing or the emotion was a momentary temperament, being not tamed has created a heap of negative emotions. Once you have realized the existence of negative emotions, consider a way to calm your mind. There could be plenty to be angry on or disappointed with but when you are trying to overcome the negative emotions, focus on all the things that you are grateful for.
Take up a hobby
There is nothing more soothing at a tense situation that channelizing your energy and thoughts to something you are passionate about. Make your hobby help you get rid of negative emotions. Paint, play music, sing, dance or cook.
Time out
There could be situations where all the wrong things seem to happen all at once. Take some time off from the daily routine to rewind. Take a day off and relax, do nothing. The more you give time for your mind and emotions to calm down, better will be your rebound and less will be the chance of you regretting doing something that you did not intend to. In his book, ‘Experience and Education’ published in the year 1938, John Dewey states a ‘problem-solving step in which a person is instructed to think about the causes of the feeling.’ The rationale behind taking some time out is that when “negative” feelings are triggered, a person has to stop the impulsive action and switch to analytical thinking.
Sleep
Yes! Sleep heals everything. A personal favorite! If you feel your thoughts overcrowding your head and you are stressing out, there is a cent percent surety that you will not be able to do anything productive or decide anything fruitful. Take a nap and let your body and mind relax before you find solution to your problems.
Let it out
The more you hold your emotions within you, the more will be the stress and negative thoughts. According to the psychologist Freud, ‘talking is a cure.’ He recommended his patients to talk in order to get to the route of their issue.
Meditate or Exercise
One of the most popular ways of getting rid of your negative emotions is exercise. Apart from relieving you from the unwanted negative thoughts and emotions, exercise allows you to take care of your body and combat stress effectively. You do not have to hit a gym or enroll for a MMA session, go for a simple walk or jog and you will see a lot more positive energy flowing in your body.
The methods of tackling negative emotions vary from person to person. While some of you might feel that the above tips are not going to help you- which again is a negative thought and should be gotten rid of in the first place, others might find them to be highly effective. There is no rule book to be followed to get rid of negative emotions. However, the above tips will definitely help you guide in a direction where you will be able to understand your mind and body better and will be a better controller of your emotions.
