{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/recruiterready.com\/insidious-power-negative-thoughts\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/recruiterready.com\/insidious-power-negative-thoughts\/","headline":"The Insidious Power of Negative Thoughts And What To Do About It","name":"The Insidious Power of Negative Thoughts And What To Do About It","description":"This content originally appeared on the blog of Leadership Coach Timothy Thomas PCC. Negative sentences have a very powerful effect on human consciousness. Structuring sentences in our minds is a habit that is built from years of practice and reinforcement from family and peers. In fact, the habit of negative sentences and thoughts pushes away […]","datePublished":"2023-01-18","dateModified":"2023-01-19","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/recruiterready.com\/author\/timothy-thomas\/#Person","name":"TimothyThomas","url":"https:\/\/recruiterready.com\/author\/timothy-thomas\/","identifier":1,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/61b946fe5aba06f5baa67d9522820bc555eb3087bb84b0d7a68c98e974ec047d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/61b946fe5aba06f5baa67d9522820bc555eb3087bb84b0d7a68c98e974ec047d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Timothy Thomas - Coaching Technology Group","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/recruiterready.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/CTG-logo-horizontal-schema-friendly.png","url":"https:\/\/recruiterready.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/CTG-logo-horizontal-schema-friendly.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/recruiterready.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Negative-Sentences.png","url":"https:\/\/recruiterready.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Negative-Sentences.png","height":"359","width":"485"},"url":"https:\/\/recruiterready.com\/insidious-power-negative-thoughts\/","about":["Coaching","Neuro Linguistic Programming"],"wordCount":660,"articleBody":"This content originally appeared on the blog of Leadership Coach Timothy Thomas PCC.Negative sentences have a very powerful effect on human consciousness. Structuring sentences in our minds is a habit that is built from years of practice and reinforcement from family and peers. In fact, the habit of negative sentences and thoughts pushes away people who are positive. Negative sentences\u00a0literally create bad feelings in others by the power of suggestion.For people who want to become part of a community, habitual negative thinking can be a very difficult and insidious enemy. They are likely to be surrounded by others who view positivity as suspicious, insincere, or a \u201csales job.\u201d To change habitual thoughts is to start a process that can have wide reaching effects on relationships with others \u2013 and any big change can feel very scary \u2013 even if the goal is better relationships and more positivity.Here is a song about negations by Tom Lehrer made famous on The Electric Company, a children\u2019s show from the 70\u2019s:YouTube Took This Video Down! It’s Worth Doing A Search To Watch It!Notice that the punchline of the song is a perfect lesson in reframing a negating mindset.Where to start?First, we have to start listening to ourselves talk \u2013 when we speak to ourselves (inside voices) and when speaking to others (outside voice).Really police your own language. Keep track of the number of times contractions that contain n\u2019t show up. Remember n\u2019t is short for \u201cnot,\u201d a way of saying \u201cno.\u201d Also notice and eliminate the word \u201cbut\u201d from your thoughts and speech as well. Replace with the conjunction \u201cand\u201d and you\u2019ll soon discover that \u201cbut\u201d only has a few uses in everyday speech. Beware of using \u201cbut\u201d to form a Negation In Disguise.Be honest and practice rephrasing your thoughts and sentences in positive ways because negative sentences\u00a0allow a convenient structure for\u00a0avoiding responsibility and a commitment to action.Here is an exercise I have created for adding positive language to the choices of language available to you. After you have learned how to communicate in a positive and inclusive way, you can choose to act or speak in negative sentences\u00a0if you really want. The point of the exercise is to raise your awareness that all your word choices are 100% your responsibility.These\u00a0example sentences show up\u00a0fairly often in my conversations with clients that feel “stuck.” Notice how these negative sentences create a powerful “downer”\u00a0momentum and make the speaker not responsible for the assertion.\u00a0 How can these be rephrased to eliminate \u201cn\u2019t,\u201d \u201cnot,\u201d \u201cno,\u201d and \u201cbut?\u201dHere is an example:Negating:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t say I don\u2019t want to go.Rephrase: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I would like to go.Be aware of this semantic game,\u00a0a\u00a0“But” Negation:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I would like to go, but I\u2019m not sure if I will like it.Now you try it.\u00a0Rephrase the Negative Sentences into positive ones.Negating:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s not as though it isn\u2019t worth doing.Rephrase:Negating:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s not a bad idea.Rephrase:Negating:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I can\u2019t imagine not doing it.Rephrase:Negating:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 No way I would miss that.Rephrase:Negating:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s not terrible.Rephrase:Negating:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well, if it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it.Rephrase:Negating:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s not like it\u2019s hurting anybody.Rephrase:Negating:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It seems fun, but I don\u2019t think it is worth it.Rephrase:Negating:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t know, but it seems like a bad idea.Rephrase:Negating:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I could do that, but what if it doesn\u2019t work.Is\u00a0chronic negativity affecting how you feel about yourself and others? Are you having relationship struggles where negativity is a contributor?\u00a0Contact me today for a complementary coaching conversation. Within a few minutes we\u2019ll know if coaching is a way to move out of frustrating repetitive patterns and start building a life that is more like the one you want."}