5 Toxic Thoughts That Poison Our Lives and How to Get Rid of Them

Sometimes our own thoughts can seriously damage our mental health, our self-esteem, and our general well-being. Therefore, it is important to recognize certain types of thinking that are not good for us.

For example, if someone praises us for our accomplishments, we shouldn’t ignore it and say that it’s no big deal. Instead, we must accept the compliment and admit to ourselves that we truly deserve it.

We realize that our own thoughts can be more powerful than we think. So be on the lookout for these toxic thoughts, and you may see some positive changes in your life!

5. You Think In Extremes

5 Toxic Thoughts That Poison Our Lives and How to Get Rid of Them
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Thinking in extremes is called all or nothing thinking. You feel like you need to be perfect: either you are successful at work or you are a total failure.

At home, you have to be the best mother or wife possible, and if there is a minor aspect of these roles that you are not playing, you start to feel guilty and disappointed in yourself.

Allow yourself to be imperfect, starting with no longer using the terms black and white. For example, if you’re embarrassed to dance while other people are around, don’t think, “I’m a horrible dancer.

Everyone will look at me and think I look stupid.” Instead, think, “I like to dance, so I’m going to have fun. And I probably won’t see these people again, so it doesn’t matter what they think.”

4. You Overgeneralize Things

Sometimes negative results can make you think that everything that follows will be just as unhappy. For example, if you don’t receive job offers after several consecutive interviews, you may think, “I’m a loser. I will never get a job. “

Instead, try to see yourself and the world around you in a more realistic way. Accept that setbacks happen and that they don’t define who you are or what will happen next.

Remember that the skills you have are valuable and that you are still a valuable person, despite these rejections.

3. You Don’t Accept Positive Feedback

5 Toxic Thoughts That Poison Our Lives and How to Get Rid of Them
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You may feel like you don’t deserve it when someone praises your work. So when someone says, “You did a great job!” you say, “Thank you, but anyone could have done so well.” Or you just say thank you, but think, “She just says it to be nice, but that’s not what she really meant.” And by thinking about it, you reinforce your belief that it is not commendable.

Learn to accept positive feedback and not to devalue your self-esteem. So instead of perpetuating a negative image of yourself in your thoughts, trust that whoever praised you really meant it and try to feel good about it.

2. You Let Your Emotions Control Your Decisions

5 Toxic Thoughts That Poison Our Lives and How to Get Rid of Them
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Drawing conclusions about yourself or the things around you based on emotions is another type of thinking that can prevent you from doing what you want and achieving your goals.

For example, you want to start a business, but you are afraid that it will not work and you are overwhelmed by the whole process.

So you might think that if you’re already scared and confused, you really shouldn’t be a businessman or businesswoman.

However, the way something makes you feel is not always what it really is. If you have negative thoughts early on, you are setting yourself up for failure.

Therefore, it is important to end these concerns, face your fears and think more positively about your abilities or the situation at hand.

1. You Often Blame Yourself

5 Toxic Thoughts That Poison Our Lives and How to Get Rid of Them
© Freepik.com

We all want to feel in control of what happens in our lives, so when something doesn’t go the way we expected, we can blame ourselves, even if we are not responsible.

For example, if your child gets poor grades in school, you might think  you’re a bad parent. Or if you reserved a table at a restaurant for you and your friends, but when you got there, they had no record of your reservation, you start to blame yourself for not being responsible enough to verify that the reservation was successful.

And you think all your friends blame you for ruining their night too. Although in reality it was probably not your fault, maybe the person who verified the reservations lost or crashed the system.

So instead of punishing yourself and thinking, “It’s all my fault, I could have prevented it,” accept that there are some things that are out of your control and that you are not responsible if something goes wrong.

Have you ever come across that kind of thinking? How do they affect you? Have you tried to get rid of them?

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