Authors > Don Joseph Goewey > Author Voices

THOUGHT ATTACKS: Transcending Toxic Thoughts

Mark Twain once said, “I’ve been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.” I call this “Thought Attacks.”  Thought attacks are the origin of a self-destructive attitude.  This attitude begins in fearful thoughts that, when believed, quickly turn into negative emotions that create perceptions of threat. These perceptions are not real; they are mind made. As the famous stress researcher, Dr. Robert Sapolsky of Stanford, states: “We humans are smart enough to generate all sorts of stressful events purely in our heads. We can experience wildly strong emotions, provoking our bodies into an accompanying uproar, all linked to mere thought.”

TOOLS THAT HEAL THOUGHT ATTACKS - In my book Mystic Cool I provide three tools to heal thought attacks (toxic thoughts) through the power of non-negative thinking. These exercises are simple and add nothing to our to-do list. Simple awareness is half the battle.  Do these and you’ll be amazed at what happens to your mood, your performance at work, and your well being. At first, these exercises may be emotionally distressing, but soon you will begin to recognize negative thoughts as delusions. Then you will start to laugh at these thoughts that used to punish you. Eventually, you stop thinking this way.  You get free from the critic within. Email me at info@proattitude.com and I will send you one or all of these exercises:

 

1. Transcending The Background Negativity: Starting today and for the next two weeks become aware, as much as possible, of the negative feelings and thoughts your mind generates.  Every time you are aware of a negative thought or feeling, tell yourself “this stressful thought or this pessimistic feeling is in me, not in reality.” Then let it go by not believing it.
2. The Clear Button:  Most stress reactions begin with fearful or toxic thinking. If we collapse the thought pattern before it proliferates, we can thwart most stress reactions. A psycho-kinetic exercise called “The Clear Button” is a way to do that.  It resets the brain.
3. Refuting The Critical Voice:  We can transcend the judging, critical mind to achieve a more optimistic self-view by challenging and refuting the its negativity in a series of steps.