People think about physical diet a lot more often than about a mental one, even despite the fact that the second one is more important. Why? If you clean your mind of waste, you will be able to make more effective decisions, including ones of healthy lifestyle field.
In fact, your thoughts are foods for your brains. Mental detoxication consists of limiting your thoughts calling out negative emotions, and replacing them with ones that bring you peace and calmness feelings.
The way your body functions is based on a food you supply it with. Your mind has nothing different in this case. Everything in your life is based on your regular way of thinking. Things you thought about in the past led you to the point where you are at the moment.
The diet is next: you will carefully choose your thoughts during seven days. And you will hold yourself distanced from negative thoughts even if there will appear many reasons for them and you will want them very much. If you are ready to accept the challenge, then read further.
Three Rules
To accept a 7-days challenge, you need to keep up to three rules.
Rule One
You should not live with negative thoughts and emotions during seven days. “Negative thoughts” are:
- Those making you angry or upset;
- Those making you feel jealous;
- Those making you feel tense or worried;
- Those making you feel unconfident;
- Those making you feel sad and desperate;
- Negative thoughts on yourself, someone else, or on circumstances you have got into.
- Thoughts making you regret about the past or fear about the future.
Negative thinking means living with thoughts about a failure, disappointments or troubles; any critical or jealous thought, anger and blame of other or yourself, any thought about an illness or accident. In some words, it is any mental limitation or pessimistic thinking.
Pay attention: the rule does not make you deny negative thoughts or not to have ones; the point is not to live with them. You can rarely control your first thought appearing in your mind, but it is easier to control a second or third one and so on.
Rule Two
When you catch yourself on having negative thoughts, you need to switch your attention onto something else in a moment. You can make one of following actions:
- Tell yourself “Stop” to interrupt a cycle;
- Accept the fact of having negative thoughts and then allow them pass through your mind like clouds pass by the sky. Just let them flow;
- Do something else. You can read, go in for physical exercises, work on an intellectual task, walk with your optimistic friend, turn on the music or sing your favorite song;
- Change the perspective. Ask yourself: “Is this true?” and “Is there another way to understand that?”
- Turn to a problem-solving mode. If there appeared negative thoughts, take actions that are necessary to neutralize the source of troubles;
- Find five positive moments for every situation.
Rule Three
Do not punish yourself if you can’t switch to something else and if you keep thinking negative. Try to change your focus to powerful positive thoughts. Remember, when the point is about changing a habit, your brain is going to manipulate you. This is normal. It will cheat on you and create illusions. You need to account that.
Four Mental Detox Recommendations
Here are tips that can help you pass through your mental detox in 7 days.
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1. Set Up an Intention
Start every morning with setting up an intention to control your negative thoughts during the day. Speak, or better write next phrases every morning:
- Today I will watch after what I think about attentively;
- Today I will allow existing of only positive thoughts;
- Today I will contest negative thoughts that are going to appear, and replace them with positive ones;
- Today, if I start worrying about the problem, I will switch my attention to look for a solution at once.
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2. Meditate
Meditation will let you separate your attention from your thoughts. You can ask yourself next questions while watching your thoughts:
- Are these thoughts true?
- Are these thoughts useful for me?
- Did I choose these thoughts on my own?
- What thoughts fill my mind with peace and cheerfulness?
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3. Use Affirmations
Tell yourself next:
- I can choose my thoughts consciously;
- My thoughts do not control me, I control them;
- I can change what I think about at any moment of time;
- I always can choose different thoughts;
- I choose thoughts that serve me;
- I train my mind to choose another direction when negative thoughts get into my head;
- Maybe, I can’t control the first thought coming to my mind, but I can control the second one;
- I will gradually reprogram my brain so it could start thinking more positively.
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4. Fill Your Mind with Positivity
Another excellent way to reach a significant success during this week is to spend one to five minutes of every morning to read or watch something inspiring and/or motivating. This may include:
- Reading quotes that inspire;
- Watching a motivational YouTube video;
- Listening to a podcast;
- Reading Bible or other sacred writing if you are religious.
Give yourself a trial. You do not need to have any equipment or preparations for that, you need only your wish and consciousness. You will see first results in a couple days. And then you will understand that it is worth to watch your thoughts not only during a week, but all the time.
