You know it’s true. One bad thought or something bad happening can quickly escalate into a cascade of negativity, ruining your entire day or even worse.
You’re probably thinking: “If I could only catch that one bad thought and squash it before it gets out of control. But how?”
One way to manage your thinking is to use something similar to one of Cesar Millan’s (star of the television series Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan, from 2004-2012) dog-training techniques. Millan emphasizes that “you must gain control of the situation and dog behavior before it escalates.” Similarly, you have to gain control of your thinking by catching your first negative thought in the act before it escalates into a stressed out situation. A single negative thought is just a single negative thought until it escalates to more negative thoughts which can very quickly become stress. To gain control you must notice the very first thought of worry, fear, anxiety, pressure, or an impending threat.
That is when the first hint of stress begins. To repeat, you have to notice the first hint of a single negative thought—then immediately distract yourself by thinking a single positive thought before that single negative thought escalates to a multitude of negative thoughts that intensify to an unmanageable level of stress. Since feeling stressed out begins with a single negative thought, the sooner you recognize your first negative thought, the easier it will be to change it to a positive thought and avoid feeling stressed.
I think you’re ready to take control.
