If you're one of those positive people who always looks on the bright side and sees life as an endless adventure with only good outcomes, you should skip this post.
For the rest of us, this article offers some fresh insights into why we simply cannot trust our thoughts and what we can do about it.
Whether you're in a state of transformation, having to make big decisions or trying to figure out the next phase of your life or career, your thoughts are often dictating how far you are willing to venture out of your comfort zone.
Most of us immediately think of all the negative outcomes, the failures that can happen, the worst possible scenarios or all of the other imaginative things your mind comes up with. This is a natural and automatic mechanism that has helped the human race survive for a long time. Long ago, when humans were still hunters and gatherers this instinct kept them from experiencing a lot of harm. In today's world, however, these thoughts stand in the way of personal and professional success.
Often times we don't even realize the impact of these negative thoughts right away and instead notice this feeling of uncertainty, fear and sometimes even panic. This affects how we view a situation and leaves us unable to move on and instead respond with sadness, stagnation and frustration. The threat of the unknown keeps us treading water.
However, these negative outcomes are only guesses. You never know how a situation might turn out. You cannot look into the future and see where your actions lead you and neither can your thoughts. They've been wired over hundreds of thousands of years in order to think of the negative, but you can always turn it around.
Instead of constantly imagining the worst, why not force your brain to think of the best outcomes? They are just as likely to happen as the other ones.
Especially when you're passionate about something, the positive scenarios are more likely to happen because you enjoy what you're doing and you give it your best.
The future is full of opportunities and the ideas you have, the risks you would like to take, the changes that you want to make happen are absolutely possible. Don't let your thoughts betray you and instead be proactive about it.
When you imagine your future and you notice these negative thoughts occupying your mind, push them away as being only one possible eventuality and focus on the positive sides of your plans. The more you do that the easier it will get to become a positive thinker and to take your future in your own hands without the constant self-sabotage you have been doing to yourself for so long.
I used to be a very, very insecure person. I saw the world as scary, harsh and life so difficult to live. I was always walking on what I thought was the safe side, which made me quite miserable. But my thoughts dictated that this lifestyle was the best, safest and the only one that would keep me out of harm. When I realized how much my thoughts were betraying me and my true potential and I started to distrust them, I quit my job without regretting it knowing that the world has more to offer for me than working at Starbucks. I decided not to continue my studies and focused solely on my business, which took off faster than I could have thought. I was walking more confidently, became more optimistic and took more risks. I saw a future that was full of possibilities and fun and I didn't let those naysaying thoughts take over.
Sure, there will always be negative outcomes when you take a different and new approach and there will be some failures along the way. But those are there to learn from and grow. This is your life and you use those lessons to create new opportunities.
But you can only make this happen by immediately and completely mistrusting your thoughts.