"Overcoming Negative Thoughts and Preventing Jealousy: Strategies for Mental Well-being.”
It’s completely normal to sometimes find yourself stuck with negative thoughts or to feel jealousy towards others. These are natural human experiences, and everyone goes through them at some point in their lives. However, it’s essential to recognize when these thoughts become overwhelming and start affecting your well-being.
We find ourselves stuck with negative thoughts that we desperately want to shake off. We struggle to remove these thoughts from our minds, especially when we find ourselves harboring ill thoughts about others or feeling jealous of their blessings.
In this article, I will outline strategies to overcome negative thoughts and prevent feelings of jealousy.
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So, when you feel yourself trap in negative thoughts and there is no way to get out of it, try these fail-proof strategies.
Think the bright side:
Just focus on the positive side.A person cannot think about two things altogether at the same time.. Don’t pay attention to what the negative is; instead, say to the negative, “Okay, we’ll meet you later. Let me first meet positive thoughts .”
It’s true, letting it go back and forth is not a problem; consider it as a cat. Whether you eat food or work it keeps wandering around, So, one thing is that when you think about one thing, the other thought comes up like this, that the unconscious within the subconscious is definitely at work, but it’s not a problem. Because the conscious human who thinks always dominates over unconscious thinking.
As it is said, either you think about the problem or you think about its solution. When a person thinks about the problem, it’s not like the problem just disappears from their mind; rather, they are actually pondering its solution. Yes, their main focus is on the solution, but when a problem arises, it becomes background noise.
Loud thinking:
Think the solution loudly.
Loud thinking means speaking in such a voice that one can hear it themselves. The idea is that when a person becomes silent, the battle of thoughts continues, and when a person starts speaking a little, the brain follows what is being said. Similarly, now when they want to focus on their actual problem, they keep verbalizing it so that they keep thinking, “Okay, if I do this, then this will happen, I should do this, and the result will be this, so I might need help from so-and-so.” When they engage in loud thinking, gradually the other thought, in which they were stuck, fades away slowly. It dissolves gradually.
Thinking Through Writing.”
The third method is to think by writing.
After that, whatever comes to your mind regarding it, write it down. This is also a science, you see. In a person’s mind, either there’s a battle of thoughts going on, or the brain follows the person’s actions and voice. When they engage in “loud thinking,” now the brain shifts its focus there. When they start writing, the brain becomes attentive to that direction. And what the person sees with their eyes, the brain contemplates about that. Now, as they write, the brain follows it, follows what it’s seeing, following what it’s writing.
It stays on the same side as the thought in which the person is stuck. Okay, next time when they sit down to think again, the same paper in front of them, as soon as that paper comes in front of them, the direction of their thoughts changes. It’s as if a person is thinking about something, and suddenly an incident or accident occurs in front of them, all their attention go there, and the person starts looking at that thing because the person’s brain follows its actions, you see.
Change your actions:
Alright, there’s another science behind this, which is said to have been discovered by Sigmund Freud and his disciples, but from what I’ve studied, I understand that the real inventor was Imam Ghazali (may Allah have mercy on him). So, actions happen based on its feelings. Similarly, if a person is worried, their movements will also be like that. If a person is happy, their body parts will start moving in the same way. Now, if a person is sad, we are also melancholic, and worried, then their movements will be like that.
If a person is distressed, their movements will also be like that. Okay, so the idea was that the action had to be followed, to pay attention to its feelings.
Now, the strategy is when it starts paying attention to its actions, it should start correcting them by giving it attention, meaning it should start smiling for no reason. Right, the person should make itself feel like it extremely happy, bursting with energy, and full of joy.
When it practices this for a while, the result will be that its feelings will be based on its actions. Wow, actions were based on feelings, but now feelings will be based on actions.
So, what happened next was that actions started pulling feelings towards themselves. Indeed, Imam Ghazali (may Allah have mercy on him) explained in detail what he originally stated. He said that the method to eliminate any bad habits within a person is that ultimately, bad morals reside within a person, such as anger, hatred, animosity, envy, malice, and resentment These qualities, when present, change a person’s behavior. When a person feels envy, their behavior changes accordingly.
Pay attention to the behavior a person has. For example, when a person is angry, the result is that they may swear or speak ill. Instead, they should replace it with good words.
Wow, when they speak good words, their anger will subside. Similarly, when a person feels envy, the solution is to start praising and appreciating that person.
Pray to Allah to bless their wealth, to continue their blessings, and to grant them even more prosperity. Believe me, within a few minutes, the impulse of envy will diminish. Then, You will feel much better.
What Imam Ghazali (may Allah have mercy on him) said is that actions are influenced by feelings, but if you want to change your feelings, then change your actions because mostly, actions are within our control. Whereas feelings do not come under our control as quickly, actions do. That’s why people with bad manners become good-mannered because they change their actions. If they practice for a while, within a month, six months, a year, or even two years, their behavior will change.
Alright, now I’ll present a famous hadith in this regard. It is narrated that “
when someone becomes angry, if they are standing, they should sit down; if they are sitting, they should lie down; and if they are lying down, they should perform ablution”
. What does this imply? It means that these are actions. When a person feels anger, these are their actions. When they stand up or sit down, these are actions that divert their attention towards what they need to do, such as washing their face, arms, and feet. Their attention will shift, and their mind will calm down. So, the angry thoughts will move to the side. This is a method. If you find yourself stuck in negative thoughts, whether you’re speaking, writing, or seeking advice from someone, paying attention to actions will pull your feelings.
Masha Allah, when a person speaks, writes, or consults someone, their attention is diverted.
check my other article: https://medium.com/p/cf7807124f43
