In the process of overhauling your mind to make positive thinking a dominant part of your thought process, it can become easy to get lost in the rabbit hole. The result? You actually try too hard to think positively. This can actually end up creating the opposite effect of your original intention. Worse yet, you end up feeling like you’re back at square one in mastering the art of positive thinking.
You might find yourself comparing yourselves to others, seeing how you measure up against them spiritually, or even reject negative thoughts altogether. Or, you’ll begin following ill-advised self-help “gurus” who claim that experiencing the full spectrum of human emotions, including pain or frustration, will “lower your vibration” or “cause an imbalance in your chakras.”
In short, the path to positivity should be yours and yours alone. Never should you be dictated by what others claim as absolute truth. Perhaps you even have learned to follow your own path to enlightenment. But you might still encounter some of these common signs that you’re forcing yourself to feel more positive, rather than allowing it to happen naturally.
Signs You’re Trying Too Hard to Think Positive
1. You find yourself over-thinking
This still happens on our own spiritual journey from time to time. It’s easy to let your mind take over and rule your life. This sidetracking can occur even if you have discovered that positive thoughts create positive outcomes. For example, you might start noticing every single thought that comes into your realm of consciousness.
Thus, you start creating commentary in your head for each of those thoughts, rather than just observing them. Or, you get frustrated and angry at yourself for thinking any negative thoughts at all. A lot of people subscribe to the idea that any sort of negative thought or emotion means you have not reached enlightenment, or you have not mastered your mind. However, I believe that allowing yourself to explore your darkness serves as a vital tool in the evolution of consciousness. After all, without darkness, how will you recognize the light?
In the beginning, you will develop an awareness behind your thoughts rather than just letting your mind chatter away senselessly. At times, it may almost feel as if you have stepped into a hyperaware state of consciousness. In contrast, you probably never even bothered to check in with your thoughts before. You might actually wish you could go back to that from time to time, but there is a middle ground.
Instead of worrying so much about what goes through your mind, just let it come without judgement, and focus on “Being” rather than “Becoming.” Realize that you can slip into a state of being whenever you want, whether you are waiting in line to pick up your kids at school, sitting in an office meeting, or giving a speech in front of thousands of people.
Forgive yourself already!
A lot of people make the mistake of condemning themselves for allowing negativity into their minds, without realizing that they can become aware of the thought without accepting it as truth. If you find that your mind won’t stop firing off demands of what you should be and how you can be a more spiritual person and why your state of consciousness is inferior or superior to others, try to just breathe deeply and listen to the ever-present silence that exists in everything. This will help you stay grounded and remove that heaviness you might feel when your brain tries to run the show.
2. You’re overdoing it
You might feel that you aren’t doing enough to achieve “enlightenment,” and try to “become” a more spiritual person. You feel that you must incorporate a spiritual practice every day, such as meditation, in order to become this spiritual guru that you have envisioned in your head.
While meditation should become a part of your routine, you shouldn’t use any sort of practice or thought process to “become” a more spiritual person. In reality, you embody the universe anyway, which means you already are spiritual. You come from the same force as everyone else, and you don’t have to try to become anything. You already possess all the qualities you need to act positively and peacefully, and all it takes is accepting this fact to quiet your mind and allow it to align with who you already intrinsically are.
Strive to become enlightened, every day!
Aside from regular meditation or yoga, you might also feel you have to always relate occurrences in your life to the spiritual realm, or universal vibrations. Sometimes, you might just want to live without relating it to any sort of spiritual happening, and that’s fine. Many people believe that once they become “awake” in any sense of the word, they must integrate this newfound knowledge and mindset into every waking moment of their days and every event in their lives. In reality, this actually complicates your life and can cloud your mind after a while. While your intuition definitely guides you through life in many circumstances, you still possess cognitive abilities that allow you to perform day-to-day functions, without the Universe necessarily stepping in to help you.
Finally, you might overdo positive thinking by integrating all sorts of new age, healing elements into your home or office space. You might start buying copious amounts of crystals, essential oils, chakra-balancing items, or tarot cards. Or perhaps you spend large amounts of money on Reiki sessions and past life regressions.
All of these items and services can help you on your spiritual journey. But you can achieve a positive mindset without relying on things outside yourself as well. I have crystals myself. And I sometimes incorporate them into my meditation sessions. However, I believe in the minimalist approach toward everything in life, including spirituality. You, yourself, are the most powerful crystal. Thus, you can easily transform your thoughts and your life by simply believing in yourself and making the decision to do so.
3. You’re comparing yourself to others
On a spiritual journey, or any journey, seeing how you size up compared to others can become the focus if you allow it to. You might feel threatened by spiritual masters or gurus, or wish you could read people’s auras and heal their energy. You might have a friend who has a calm, peaceful demeanor, and talk down on yourself for being more energetic and scatterbrained. All of this results in unhappiness. And in the end, it will make you feel like you will never reach true enlightenment unless you reach their state of perceived consciousness.
At the end of the day, you are your worst enemy. Chances are, the other people probably aren’t judging you or comparing you to their own state of being. Just feel comfortable in your own skin. Realize that you have talents that other people may not have. The spiritual journey is a highly personal one. Comparing one to another is sort of like comparing an opera singer to a rock star.
Final Thoughts on Your Ability to Think Positive
Each person must walk their own path in life and realize their own strengths, and once you stop comparing your journey to someone else’s, you can begin to nurture your soul and follow your own heart. You are neither superior nor inferior to anyone else. You are equal. Furthermore, you don’t have to justify your own state of consciousness by seeing how it measures up to your neighbor’s.
How do you remain positive? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Comment below or join up on Facebook.
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