That negative thought: 1

Thoughts impact the way one feels: this is the fundamental supposition of human behavior. One needn't agonize about harmful thoughts if they didn't impact how one felt; and subsequently behaved in response to the downbeat emotion it generated. A spider crawling up your back does annoy; the natural emotion would be to have it off you. If that’s not a possibility; it would take remarkable tolerance to allow it to be there and be impassive about it. The best and most desirable option is of course to get rid of it. Needless to say, ridding the back of a spider is easier than expelling the unwanted thought from the psyche. The thought you don’t want, the one that irks, exasperates, and often devastates. The negative thought is composed of:

Nihilism

Emotional reasoning

Generalization

All or none thinking

Twisting (reality)

Idealization

Vindication

Expectation

Nihilism

Catastrophes destroy life in a jiffy but they cannot transpire every moment. Disaster also needs preparedness. Earthquakes and volcanoes also simmer over centuries before erupting. Persistently believing in drastic consequences is a commonly adopted thought process.

• I will not be able to manage that meeting
• Everyone is going to laugh at my stupidity
• If I fail this exam then my life is finished

There is a conscious awareness that there’s no base for the negative presumption; yet the mind follows the black hole and assumes the most negative consequence. Nihilism ought to be forfeited to allow positive visualization. Expecting disaster is not utilitarian; it diminishes confidence and prepares for worse outcomes. If you don’t see the positive possibilities, they will rarely unfold themselves.

Emotional reasoning

Usually cognitive processes require the utility of the grey matter. However often indeed do people allow a shutdown of cognition with complete takeover of emotion to guide their actions and behavior. These don’t have rational base (we’re not using the mind in the first place!) Emotions are imperative for action; however acting on emotion without reasoning is seldom appropriate.

• I feel that he doesn't care; so maybe he really doesn't
• I feel like I’m going to fail this interview, I’m no good
• I feel I’m fat and that makes me ugly and repulsive

Emotions are indispensable; it’s what makes us human. However intellect and reasoning are humane traits that mustn't be ignored. If one applies the mind, most problems do seem to have solutions. We just need the ability to pursue them.

Generalization

When memories of events get embalmed in the mind, they seem to spill over in unrelated situations and form irrational fixtures in reasoning. One downbeat event seems to confirm that every attempt in any arena will culminate in failure. The over-generalization paves for pessimism and negative focus.

• I didn't get the job so I am a failure in life
• She rejected me; I will always be lonely
• I failed the exam, I am good for nothing

When one generalizes, there is drastic reduction in options. Every day brings in new hopes, fresh dreams and novel challenges. Always and never are 2 words that should be deleted from everyone’s vocabulary.

All or none thinking

The world is not black and white. It has several shades of gray; all of which can be blended into a mosaic. Merely black and white would leave fewer options. The all or none thinking in the ‘black and white’ people focuses on absolutism.

• He argued with me; he’s not my friend at all
• This job is boring; I don’t want to work here
• She made me wait; she’s the worst girlfriend

Those who believe in it definitely have embedded stubbornness which is expressed in great expectations from the world and the subsequent letdowns when they are not fulfilled. Anything short of success is failure. They lessen their own likelihoods of triumph by building on pessimism; and lowering the regard and esteem of others. They dislike themselves, as well as the world in the bargain...