When a negative thought shows up like an uninvited guest

I swear to you that to think too much is a disease, a real, actual disease. —Fyodor Dostoyevsky

I recently discovered a new technique for stopping myself when I spiral into negative thinking. It’s a technique called PAUSE.

P - Pause, take a moment to breathe and calm down. The key here is simple awareness of your negative thoughts without passing judgment.

A - Ask what’s the purpose of these negative thoughts—is this thinking making me feel better? Do I want to keep suffering? The key here is to remember that you always have the choice to stop and seek peace.

U - Understand the choice is yours. You can decide whether to accept or let go of these negative thoughts.

S - Say a mantra—the one I use is, “thinking is the root cause of suffering.” This helps shift your focus elsewhere.

E - Experience your emotions without critique. Don’t overthink, just feel.

And keep repeating this process until the negative thoughts go away.

I hope it helps, and when those negative thoughts show up, like an uninvited guest, greet them!

The more you feed negative thoughts, the stronger they become. - Unknown