Are you caught in a negativity loop? Are negative thoughts constantly assaulting you? Is the constant stress and strain making your mind shattered and weak?
As Mark Manson, an American author and a blogger says, “In the same way the excess of junk food damaged our bodies in the 20th century, the excess of stress and negative thinking, has damaged our emotions and minds in the 21st century”. And it’s getting worse day by day.
It’s time to make a change. It’s time that we should preserve and enhance the most important gift of the human race, our minds. For this, together let us all commit to a ‘Negativity DETOX’! And here are 3 simple steps to negativity detox:
#1: Social Media Detox
Three billion people, which is around 40% of the total world’s population, are using social media and we are spending an average of two hours every day reading, sharing, liking, tweeting, and updating on these platforms. Very often news on social media platforms these days is dramatic, emotionally charged, and often inaccurate. Most articles run trending by poking at your hot buttons which in digital language we call pay per click, and not for their truthfulness or utility.
Many of them add no value to us, rather it just spreads anxiety, fear, insecurity, or hopelessness around. One needs to LIMIT the exposure to such type of assault on one’s mind! Some questions to ask yourself today –
1. Are you choosing reliable sources of Information?
2. Do you focus on getting the bare minimum facts you need to stay informed daily, or do you get tempted into dark deep stories that trigger fear and insecurity?
3. Is your social media exposure adding value to your life? Or has it become an addictive distraction?
It’s time to redeem your mental sanity and emotional well-being by limiting your time on social media to 30-45 minutes each day and deliberately choosing what content to focus on.
#2: Negative People Detox
Meet and greet all the people in your life and ask yourself two simple questions –
1. “Is being connected with such people adding any value to my life?”
2. “Does this person/group help me grow?
If the answer is NO, then you need to emotionally detach yourself from such people. Stop letting them affect you more. Unfriend them as soon as possible if needed. Your emotional energy is much precious than other things. So, don’t allow anyone to ooze you anyway. Be selective and get pitiless in eliminating negative people.
#3: Thoughts Detox
Is your mind feeling jumbled?
One of the things we highly recommend is to free your mind from the surroundings of such people who might give you negative vibes. Firstly, get a piece of paper or just simply pick a page from your notebook. Secondly, write ANYTHING that comes to your mind. Let go of the information which is not needed by simply writing it down on paper. Put down your to-do lists. Thirdly, bring awareness to any extreme and anxious thought patterns you may be having and pen it down too.
The process of writing can be a HUGE therapy.
Also, try to ascertain what are the things that calm your mind make you feel happy instead of overwhelming it (deep breathing, listening to a podcast, reading a book, walking, cooking…). Take 5 short breaks in a day and do what calms your mind down. Do this deliberately and you can watch your energy levels skyrocket!
Lastly, there’s an old Cherokee story that I heard a while ago,
And it goes like this…
“A fight is going on inside me,” An old Cherokee man said to his grandson.
“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.
One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”
He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
This doesn’t need much explanation. In conclusion, every day we have a choice of and a chance to what we choose to feed our minds, eliminating all negativity behind us. I hope we all have the wisdom to consciously choose wisely that what is good and evil for a happy state of mind.