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Learn how to kill negative thoughts before negative thoughts kill your willpower

by Rick Baker
On Jul 27, 2015

Willpower: that's when the brain, through conscious thought, forces/guides the body to behave in ways that lead toward [are consistent with] long-term goals.

Willpower requires two things:

  1. will & 
  2. power 

Science tells us power is the rate of doing work. And, we all know work takes effort, consumes energy, is hard to do relative to other things.

The human brain cannot perform negative thoughts and exercise willpower at the same time. Since willpower is tough to do and negative thinking is easy to do the brain favours negative thinking. So - the slightest amount of negative thought energy has the ability to totally displace willpower. This is how your negative thoughts kill your willpower.

They key to exercising willpower is learning how to nip negative thoughts in the bud.

In order to nip negative thoughts in the bud, you need a plan & a process. I suppose there are many ways to go about nipping negative thoughts in the bud. However, I have only found one that works for me. I find two things must be done before I can nip negative thoughts in the bud:

  1. Stillness: I must stop moving and remain as still as possible for, at least, a short period of time.
  2. Silence: I must be silent and, to the extent possible, be in a quiet environment.
I have found Stillness & Silence provide the best opportunity to monitor thoughts. When I monitor my thoughts I can quickly determine my negative thoughts. They show us as worries, anxieties, and little stresses and strains and they do not take me toward my desired goals. My negative thoughts are trouble-causing servants of my Ego. They are the signals of my bad habits and the catalysts that drive my bad habits. They reduce my ability to achieve my desired goals.

Only after negative thoughts are identified and recognized as negative can they be removed. Negative thoughts come to us so naturally and are very easy to do...so it can be difficult, or seem difficult, to remove them. With practice, difficult things become easy. Practice improves the ability to remove unwanted thoughts.

When we remove our negative thoughts we pave the path for our willpower. Actually, we partially pave the path. Willpower will never walk on easy paths. Willpower can come easier...but never easy. Willpower will always require 'will', which is a good habit that takes hold when you have and practice a plan and a process. Willpower will always require 'power', which can only exist when negative thoughts are removed.

Comments (2) -

Bryan Huck
8/8/2015 11:10:34 AM #

Another great post Rick - thanks!  I have been reading "Your Brain at Work" by David Rock. In the section related to dealing with distractions, he outlines the small window of "Veto Power" we have over our thoughts and impulses. It is about 0.2 seconds that we have before they lead to an action (or further negative thoughts). With practice, as you suggest, we do get better at handling negative thoughts. It is interesting that the Veto power window doesn't increase with practice, but your awareness and desire to intervene does.  This takes energy and practice.  If you are tired, hungry, or anxious, you stand little chance to redirect that thought ... unless you have practiced really well.  Your post provides a sense of urgency in dealing with negative thoughts if we want to have willpower - which we all desire.  Having the awareness of our thinking is the first step to practice.  Thanks for providing this first step for us!

rick baker
8/13/2015 3:29:27 PM #

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Bryan. I will check out the book...looks like it contains some very helpful information. As you have said - some amazing new work and insights about "how brains work".

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