Q: I am 60 years old and I have been having trouble with my business this last year. It has just about destroyed me. I am depressed, and sad, I have no energy and I don’t feel I have any alternatives but to stay in my business for income purposes. How can I get rid of these negative thoughts?
A: First and foremost, I feel it is important to get a physical check-up and make sure that any physical issues are ruled out. Then, I would like for you to write down daily the number of negative thoughts you have in your mind. At the end of the day, you might surprise yourself with how many negative thoughts are churning in your mind. With all of those negative thoughts churning in your heart, it’s difficult to be positive and happy. Of the 60,000 thoughts we have daily, 95% are the same thoughts you had yesterday and the day before, and the day before that. No wonder you may be exhausted at the end of the day.
Our minds are record players, repeating the same record over and over again. (Ok, iPod for all of you under 30). It’s easy to become stuck in a rut. These negative thoughts stimulate areas of the brain involved in depression and anxiety. Yet, positive thoughts have a beneficial calming effect on the brain. Our negative thoughts are like poison in our system, and our positive thoughts are like medicine. Your thinking either contracts or expands you.
You might want to consider hiring a life coach to help you with your business and get it back to its optimal level. Remember that your thoughts aren’t always true! That’s right. Shift your perspective and realize you don’t have to believe your negative thoughts for one second. Don’t give your power away to those negative thoughts. While our minds are wired to go to the negative, they stem from our primitive survival mechanisms that have run amok.
Psychologist and brain researcher, Dr. Rick Hansen, once explained that “Our brains are Velcro for negativity and Teflon for positivity.” Our negative experiences stick to us like Velcro, while our positive experiences slide right off us like Teflon. In fact, researchers have found it takes numerous positive experiences to overcome a single negative one!
Yet there is hope. When you have a negative thought, picture a stop sign and say “STOP”! Shift that negative thought to a positive one and stick with it. Start writing down positive thoughts and repeat them regularly. There is hope for increasing your brain’s Neuro networks called neuroplasticity. It’s always helpful to focus on a solution. Unlike a dog, your brain really can learn new tricks.
Think of your negative thoughts like poison in your system, and positive thoughts like medicine. Thinking can either contract or expand us. You may want to seek out a life coach who can help you with ideas to recharge your business where you feel the business is in the sink and thriving. Meanwhile, don’t believe everything that you think.