There’s something about the start of December that creates a different kind of atmosphere. The festive season kicks off and lot of us feel excited, giddy and very festive.

But with the dark mornings, and even darker nights, sometimes it can be hard to keep smiling all the time. Plus, towards the end of December we've got big deadlines looming whether that be for uni or work. It can all get a bit much.

That’s when your negative thinking kicks in.

Even though positivity is a key value of ABOH, it can still be easy to let negative thinking take over. It’s natural – a part of life. We can’t expect life to be magical all the time. But what it actually comes down to is the power you give this negativity.

Thoughts like these drain you of energy. They stop you from being intentional and being present. The more power you give to your negative thinking, the stronger it becomes. Picture a cloud getting bigger and bigger, enveloping you. It’s not nice to think of, is it?

That’s how one small, insignificant thought can turn into a huge, overwhelming, unhappy feeling.

But a positive thought can have exactly the same effect. Just in a completely different way.

I get that it’s hard sometimes to push away the negativity in your mind. But today, I wanted to share some thoughts on how you can change your negative thinking for good.

How To Drastically Change Your Negative Thinking

Write Everything Down

Some people meditate, some people do yoga. I say, journal. Get your thoughts onto paper. Write down exactly what’s making you feel so negative. Even if you’re overthinking and making up scenarios. Write it all down. I promise you’ll start to feel lighter as you’re putting pen to paper.

The way I was taught to recognise negative thinking was like this. Picture a balloon tied to your wrist. Now put all your negative thoughts into the balloon. Then, you untie it from around your wrist and let it go, watching it as it floats towards the sky.

That might seem a bit extravagant. But usually you’ve got to be able to picture something to be able to let it disappear.

Don’t Play The Victim

I used to do this a lot. Always complaining about something, always finding a reason to moan. But I realised that I wasn’t doing anything about my current situation. I wasn’t doing anything to change it. Since then, I've made a vow to complain a lot less.

Have you heard this saying? If everyone put their problems into a big pot, they’d pick their own back out.

This is so true.

There is always a way out, but only you can find it. You always have a choice and if you need to make a change, you can do it. This life is yours. Take responsibility for that.

Change Your Thoughts From Negative To Positive

Sounds simple, right? But I bet there are lots of you who can tell me how hard this can be. I've been there. I've had situations in my life when I've not wanted to think positively. When I've just wanted to wallow in my misery. That’s when you need to get someone else to help you see the alternative.

When I worked in Stockport, there were times when I’d be stuck in traffic, miles from home and I’d cry. Just cry my eyes out. I was just so desperate for things to change. I couldn't see the brightness, I couldn't see a way out. There was no positivity to my situation. But when I got home, my mum and dad would always say one thing: “You’re home now.”

You can relate this to anything. So at the moment, Tom and I are saving up to get our first house together. We want to buy, not rent and we've been saving for a year now. We could think, “We’re never going to get a house and when we do we’re going to have no money left, because everything we've saved will have gone.”

Or, we could think: “It’s taking a while to save for a house and it’ll probably take a bit longer. But we’ll be able to get a good house. Not just an OK one. We’ll be able to make the best decision that we’ll both be happy with, even if it’s taking longer than we want.”

Surround Yourself With Positivity

If you’re already feeling blue, you don’t need other people coming in and making you feel worse. Ain't nobody got time for that. If someone is complaining to you when you’re already feeling negative, tell them to stop.

You need people that are going to help you. People that tell you straight, but are also there to give you a massive hug. Talk to someone who can put things into perspective for you and change your negative thinking.

List What You’re Grateful For

Remember the Stockport story I just told you about? This is when I started writing down three things I was grateful for every single day. Then when Tom started getting down about his job, I told him to do the same. It’s an eye opener.

It makes you realise you’ve got more in your life than the current negative situation you’re in. You've got more to be thankful for and more important things to give your positive energy to.

Dance, Sing & Do What Makes You Happy

If putting really loud music on and dancing round your house will lift your mood, do it. If baking will give you focus and distract you, do it. If you need to nap or go for a walk, do it. My remedy is working out. It gives me adrenaline and lets me get everything out by pushing my body to the limit.

I could go on and on about ways to change your negative thinking. But the thought I want to leave you with is this:

When you look back on the past year, do you want to remember it from a negative perspective, where you don’t recognise any amazing memories? Or do you want to remember it in a positive way, celebrating the good things, no matter how small they are?

I know which one I’d choose. I'm pretty sure you do too.

What are your tips for drastically changing your negative thinking? What's the biggest thing you'll take away from this post? Let's chat in the comments!