Hi there,
I read somewhere that people, on average, have about 60,000 thoughts per day, of which 85 percent are negative. Although I’m sure there are individual variations, people in general tend to have many negative thoughts. Just look around society; there is so much negativity everywhere.
Thinking negatively is, of course, painful and can be perceived as an obstacle to living happily. It’s easy to blame the negative thoughts themselves and see them as the cause of suffering. We desperately want them to stop so that we can think positively or at least find peace of mind.
In the past, I used to try to combat my negative thinking a lot. I read self-help books and tried to look at things from a positive perspective. However, after meditating for over 10 years, I’ve come to realize that negative thoughts are not my enemies. If I make them my enemies, I will lose. How could I beat thousands of enemies? It’s as futile as trying to beat the water while swimming in the middle of the ocean.
The simple fact of the matter is that I’m living in a sea of negative thoughts, 24/7. I have to accept that reality about myself. When this realization clicked in my mind, I found peace within. A surprising calm ensued amid all the negative thoughts. The negative thoughts no longer defined me, and I slowly started to navigate.
I’m now steadily moving forward. I just do. One step at a time, like a clock. I take action every day towards my goals, and I grow as a person by the minute. Yes, there are thousands of negative thoughts there all the time, but I’ve given up trying to be free from them. And you know what, that’s true freedom because it’s not conditioned on anything, not even freedom itself.
Hope this helps! All power to you! Meditation was my lifesaver!
Michael
PS. I recommend to check out the video below for some basic understanding about the mind.
