Here’s something to ponder.
And it happens almost instantly.
It seems obvious that if you want to feel better, you shouldconsciously fill your head with hopeful thoughts.
But most of us have no control over our thoughts.
They pop in automatically, and they’re overwhelmingly negative.
These automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) infest the brain and steal your happiness.
One ANT, like one pesky critter at your picnic, is no big problem.
Two or three ANTs, like two or three insects at your picnic, become a bit more irritating.
But having hundreds of ANTs, like hundreds of creepy-crawlers at your picnic, can ruin your day.
These ANTs are bad news for your brain too.
How ANTs affect the brain.
Several years ago, I dida brain imaging studycomparing the effects of both ANTs and gratitude on brain function.
The first scan revealed that gratitude and healthy thinking enhanced brain function.
The regions of her brain associated with mood looked calm with optimal activity.
For the second scan, we asked her to focus on sad, frightening, worrisome ANTs.
She imagined her beloved dog getting sick and dying.
She worried about losing her job and running out of money.
And she envisioned becoming homeless.
Her second scan showed that her brain on negativity looked vastly different from that healthy scan.
In particular, two important brain regions showed a serious and concerning decrease in activity.
Second, the activity in her temporal lobes plummeted from all that negative thinking.
The temporal lobes play an important role in mood, memory, and temper control.
The long-term effects of negative thinking.
Thelink between our thoughts and brain activityhas been noted for decades.
When thinking happy thoughts, activity in their emotional brain cooled off, and they reported feeling better.
It’s a downward spiral that can take a serious toll on your well-being.
Warning: Your ANTs are lying.
Don’t believe everything you think.
Not only do ANTs disrupt optimal brain function, but they also tend to lie.
Actually, they lie a lot and can wreak havoc in your life.
But he had an IQ of 135, placing him in the top 1% of all people.
Learn the 7 Types of ANT Species.
This skill can completely change your life if you embrace and practice it.
Just the bad ANTs
This ANT can’t see anything good!
It seeks out the bad side of everything.
It can find mistakes anywhere and roots out problems in even the most drama-free situations.
Guilt-beating ANTs
These ANTs think in words likeshould,must,ought to, orhave to.
It often backfires and can be counterproductive to your goals.
Fortune-teller ANTs
Don’t listen to this lying ANT!
ANTs like “Did you see the way my significant other looked at me?
I can tell they’re mad at me” can cause a lot of trouble in relationships.
It’s not my fault!
It’s your fault!"
It wants you to be a victim.
Of all the ANTs, these are the most toxic.
How to defeat your negative thoughts.
With practice, you’re able to learn to eliminate the ANTs.
An easy way to do so is totake notice of your thoughtsand recognize any negative thoughts.
Talking back to the thought takes away its power.
