Here’s the generally accepted breakdown:
On average, we each have 60,000 thoughts per day
90 to 95 percent of those thoughts are repetitive
80 percent of them are negative
Caveat: The above numbers are the consensus of The Science™ so they should be taken as guidelines, not carved-in-stone truth. Even so, I feel comfortable saying that where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
We’re all ruminating much of our days on redundant pessimism. This goes well beyond “politics.” Our minds are filled with self-sabotaging contemplation about ourselves and the people in our lives.
Imagine if we shuffled the ratio and lived in a state of 80 percent positive thoughts of which no more than 50 percent were repetitive.
Why do we focus on the same negative points over and over? I’m not going to write a psychology thesis here but I do want to offer two, well… thoughts.
Firstly, we are designed to survive. It makes sense that we’d notice what is negative (threats, risks, etc.) and store that information for future use. Of course, this can take some toxic turns when our fears are more perception than reality.
Also, our brains like to be right. Think about it: Everyone has rough patches. During such times, we can experience self-doubt and a loss of self-esteem. If a negative self-image lingers, our minds will seek out evidence that this perception is a fact. We slide into a self-fulfilling prophecy of despair.
Like all habits and patterns, negative thinking requires time and focus to manage. The danger creeps in when our inner voice begins judging our alleged inability to silence it.
This goes a long way in explaining why so many of us are drawn to apocalyptic scenarios about ourselves — and the world we live in. It’s a blueprint for doom-scrolling and spending inordinate amounts of antagonistic time in comment threads and flame wars.
Read more about the Fear Matrix™ here:
So… now what?
We humans can’t really prevent intrusive thoughts but we absolutely can control how we respond to these repetitious salvos. A few more, um… thoughts:
The Future is Unwritten
It’s terribly self-limiting to live as if past trends always predict future outcomes. Rather than accept what you think to be inevitable, let your imagination guide you.
Mindfulness Works
Doom and gloom live in the past and future. When we’re consumed with anxiety or dread, we are not present. Rooting ourselves in the moment is how we can connect with the creativity we need to recognize that the past is not prologue and the future remains unwritten.
I’ve written about such time travel here:
Talk Back to Your Inner Critic/Cynic/Pessimist
Anxiety is a skilled liar. Treat it as skeptically as you would a corporate media news article. Factcheck it. Demand evidence. If it cannot supply verifiable answers, reject it.
Be Your Own BFF
If a loved one made a mistake and was feeling like a loser, how would you talk to them? The odds are, you’d show them far more compassion than your internal monologue shows you. Try being your own best friend from now on. Practice patience, love, self-compassion, and respect.
Or, to borrow from 2 Corinthians 10:5:
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
With that in mind, let’s return to the thought experiment from the top of the post:
Imagine if we shuffled the ratio and lived in a state of 80 percent positive thoughts of which no more than 50 percent were repetitive.
Spoiler alert: It is possible.
What would such a world look and feel like to you?
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I love the Romans quote.
My husband and I are trying to decide where we'd like to volunteer. A small step toward making our world better.
I was thinking yesterday, after your post, and the similar-themed one from a friend, about the Hundredth Monkey.
That primate needs to come back, LOL!
I am ruminating on that very topic--literally as I read your post, Mickey!
Here are my thoughts on it:https://open.substack.com/pub/notesfromsufferingschool/p/suffering-school-drivers-ed?r=9bqli&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true