​​​​How To Stop Being Negative: 6 Steps

If you already know what negative thinking is and why you want to stop thinking negatively, the next step is to learn how to eliminate negative thinking in a way that makes it easy for you to get rid of negative thoughts and not deal with them again.

For example, let’s say you want to stop thinking the negative thought ‘I’m such a loser’, and you want to never think this negative thought again, even if the rest of the world is telling you what a loser you are, that you will never amount to anything, and so on.

In other words, not only do you want to know how to overcome negative thoughts, but you also want to know how to avoid negative thoughts in the future, even if other mean-spirited people want you to think negatively.

How do you do this?

Right now, you’re about to learn step by step how to do this, and how to get rid of unwanted thoughts and not deal with them again, no matter what the circumstances.

How to get rid of negative thoughts & not deal with them anymore: 6 steps

Click on each step to learn more about how to get rid of negative thinking, and how to stop unwanted thoughts from entering your mind.


  1. Know what you want to achieve by eliminating negative thinking: the more specific you are, the better  

This gives you a sense of purpose, and helps you decide what types of negative thoughts to eliminate.

Remember, negative thinking is a useless way of thinking that doesn’t take you in a positive direction that you want to go in.

This raises the question: what positive direction do you want to go in?

Answering this question is the first and most important step for getting rid of negative thinking, since it helps you identify specific negative thoughts that you want to reduce, eliminate, and prevent from occurring again.

For example, let’s say you decide that you want to a happier, more confident person. If that’s the case, then you clearly already know that you want to eliminate negative thoughts that make you feel bad or that make you less confident.

Or, let’s say that you want to quit smoking.

In that case, you want to replace negative thoughts that make it more challenging for you to become a non-smoker with thoughts that make it easier to stop smoking.

Bottom line, the more specific you are about what positive thing you want to achieve, the better off you are, because this helps you determine which negative thoughts are working against you and making it more challenging for you to get there.

  • If you want to be happier, target negative thoughts that make you feel bad
  • If you want to have higher self esteem, target negative thoughts that make you have lower self esteem
  • If you want to overcome lack of self confidence and be more confident, target negative thoughts make you doubt yourself and that make you less confident
  • See more
  • If you want to have achieve a goal, target negative thoughts that make it more challenging for you to achieve that goal
  • For example, if you want to eliminate social anxiety when meeting new people, target negative thoughts that make you feel nervous or uncomfortable when you meet someone new
  • The basic idea is always the same: whatever positive thing you want to achieve, target negative thoughts that make it more challenging for you to get there

  1. Identify at least one negative thought that you want to eliminate  

This helps you focus on getting rid of negative thinking that is relevant to you.

For example, if you want to have higher self esteem, you can identify the negative thought ‘I’m such a loser’ as being a thought that prevents you from getting there by making you have much lower self esteem.

But what if you want to overcome a fear of public speaking? What types of negative thoughts do you think contribute to this fear, and are therefore important to eliminate?

If you think about it, you’ll likely start identifying thoughts like, ‘I’m a terrible public speaker’, or ‘I can’t be calm speaking in front of others’, and so on.

So, in this scenario, these are the types of negative thoughts you will want to focus on eliminating.

Some additonal things to appreciate:

  • By identifying negative thoughts that work against you and make it more challenging for you achieve something you want, these thoughts are relevant to you and definitely worth eliminating
  • By wanting to get rid of these negative thoughts, you are naturally more motivated and energized to do something about eliminating them, which already helps you to start letting go of them
  • Once you eliminate these negative thoughts, your life immediately improves in every way (much like your life immediately improves in every way the moment a headache goes away)

  1. Know why the negative thought is of no value to you: understand the negative effects  

This is how to eliminate any motivation to think negatively, which helps you let go of the negative thought and not deal with it anymore.

Already, you know that if a negative thought makes you feel bad, or that it’s making it more challenging for you to achieve something, then it’s not helping you in any way and is working against you.

But you can dig deeper into the effects of the negative thought, and this makes it easier to stop thinking negatively and eliminate any negative automatic thoughts.

After all, the more you understand how the negative thought is useless, doesn’t help you in any way, and even works against you, the easier it is for you to let go of the negative thought and not think it again, no matter what the circumstances.

This is because the less value you see in the thought, the less your mind is energized and motivated to think the negative thought.

Once your mind sees no value at all in the negative thought, then it has no motivation at all to think it. This is when your mind naturally doesn’t think the thought at all.

So this is how to eliminate negative thoughts and never deal with them again.

  • For example, if you want to have higher self esteem, you can appreciate that the negative thought ‘I’m such a loser’ is useless and of no value to you, since it makes you have lower self esteem
  • But what about digging deeper into the effects of this negative thought, so that it’s even easier to stop thinking this way?
  • For example, you can see how you have less confidence in yourself, your abilities, and what you’re capable of achieving, when you think ‘I’m such a loser’
  • See more
  • This lower level of self confidence translates into less success in life
  • You also experience less happiness and enjoyment when you think this way
  • The more you see and recognize these types of effects, and recognize why the negative thought is worthless in every way, the easier it is for you to let go of the negative thought and not think it again, no matter what

  1. Know why it never makes sense to think the negative thought, even if it’s true or valid: bottom line, there’s always a better way of thinking about things  

This understanding makes it easy for your mind to let go of the negative thought and reject it, even if the negative thought is true or valid.

Often, when you reconsider one of your negative thoughts, you’ll see it is false, invalid, or completely nonsensical, which is a great thing to appreciate.

Here’s why: once your mind sees that a negative thought isn’t even true or valid, your mind naturally and automatically rejects the negative thought, so it’s easy to let go of it and stop dealing with it.

But even when a negative thought can be considered ‘true’ or ‘valid’, it still doesn’t make sense to think in a useless negative way that harms you, when you could be thinking in a useful, true, valid positive way instead.

For example, let’s say you struggle with overcoming negative self talk, and you repeatedly tell yourself things like ‘I’m a loser’.

Once you see that it doesn’t make any sense to think this way, no matter what, you naturally stop telling yourself things like this. So this is how to stop negative self talk the easy way.

(Since it can be challenging for some people to let go of negative thoughts that they consider true or valid, you will soon learn more about how to handle these types of negative thoughts.)

  • Reconsider the negative thought ‘I’m a loser’, and ask yourself: is it even true or valid? Or is it just nonsense?
  • Perhaps, when you consider everything you have going for you, you come to the conclusion that this is clearly false, invalid, or completely nonsensical
  • If you come to this conclusion, that’s great: it makes it very easy for you to reject the negative thought, since it’s just nonsense that doesn’t carry any weight at all
  • See more
  • But even if you come to the conclusion that the negative thought ‘I’m a loser’ is true or valid, here’s the thing: it still doesn’t make sense to think that way
  • After all, if you’ve followed the steps, you already appreciate that it’s a worthless negative thought that works against you and doesn’t do anything positive for you
  • So it doesn’t make any sense to think this supposedly ‘true’ or ‘valid’ negative thought, when you could be thinking true or valid positive thoughts that help you, instead (you will learn more about this in a little bit)

  1. Know without a doubt why it’s ok, great, and sensible in every way to never think the negative thought again, even if others want you to think that way  

This creates complete confidence in eliminating the negative thought for good, so this is how to get rid of the negative thought and not deal with it again, even if others want you to think negatively.

Back to an earlier question: how can you not think negative thoughts like ‘I’m a loser’, even when surrounded by negative people telling you how worthless you are, what a loser you are, and so on?

It might not be enjoyable to surrounded by this type of negativity.

But it can be simple and easy to not think such a negative thought about yourself, even in this situation, provided you have followed the steps above.

After all, following the steps in order creates very strong confidence in the knowledge that you’re always better off not thinking the thought, which means you are not easily persuaded or influenced to think negatively.

Much like you would find it easy to not drink a cup of brown, smelly, toxic sewage water that someone offered you every day, you can find it just as easy to never think a negative thought that someone else wants you to think.

It’s just a matter of following the steps you’ve learned.

  • Think about it: if you’ve followed the above steps, then you’re clear that you want to have higher self esteem, and you know that the negative thought ‘I’m a loser’ works against you.
  • Furthermore, you understand why this thought is of no value, and why it doesn’t make sense to think that way at all.
  • So, if other people are trying to get you to think negatively, it’s not an issue for you, since the steps above let you know, without any doubt at all, that it’s ok, great, and sensible in every way for you to never think ‘I’m a loser’, even if others want you to think negatively about yourself.

  1. Choose to reject the negative thought after achieving this understanding and developing confidence in why you’re always better off without it  

This simple decision instructs your mind how to think and is how you no longer think the negative thought moving forward.

You have the power to choose to get rid of a negative thought and not think it again. The catch is that this choice is only effective once you have complete confidence in the value of eliminating the negative thought for good.

This is because your brain will continue thinking in old, familiar ways, until it understands why you’re better off in every way not thinking the negative thought anymore.

The lesson: first complete the preceding steps to create confidence in the value of eliminating the negative thought and never dealing with it again.

Then decide to stop thinking negatively.

This gets your brain’s cooperation and helps you get rid of the negative thought.

  • Keep in mind that it is important for you to consciously and deliberately choose to reject the negative thought and not think it anymore, if you do, indeed want to be free of it
  • For example, even if you’re completely confident in the value of eliminating the negative thought ‘I’m a loser’, you won’t actually stop thinking thinking this way until you consciously choose to stop thinking this thought
  • To understand this, think about how you can be completely confident in the value of taking a smelly bag of trash out of your house
  • See more
  • This confidence is great, but until you choose to pick up the bag of trash and take it out of your house, you’re not actually doing anything with the bag of trash
  • It is the same way with getting rid of negative thinking; you can be completely confident in the value of eliminating a negative thought, but until you choose to stop thinking it, you’re not actually doing anything about it (you’re not actually getting rid of the negative thought)
  • The lesson: create confidence in the value of eliminating a negative thought, and then be sure to consciously and deliberately choose to stop thinking the negative thought for your own good
  • See more
  • Another analogy: learning about a negative thought that works against you is like learning about an open door in your house that lets in the cold wind and the rain; the knowledge alerts you to the situation, but it doesn’t resolve it.
  • Making conscious choices to stop thinking negatively is the equivalent of taking action to shut that door and resolve the situation. So this is how to change negative thinking patterns by being decisive.
  •  It’s a simple, easy, effective thing to do that immediately improves your life, so be sure you do it!


Again, click on each step to learn more about how to get rid of bad thoughts from your mind and not deal with them again.

After you complete these steps to get rid of your negative thought, it is strongly recommended that you choose a positive thought to replace the negative thought you just eliminated.

The reason for this is that even though your mind can be fully ready and willing to let go of the negative thought and never think it again, it can remain your brain’s ‘default’ way of thinking until it knows of a better way to think. So give your mind a more useful positive thought to start thinking, instead, and you’re set.

Doing this is part of the process of rewiring your mind for positivity, so that you naturally always think positively instead of negatively.

How to remove negative thoughts that are true or valid

A common glitch in thinking: valid or true = good and useful = important and worth keeping.

This glitch in thinking is the number one reason some people struggle with letting go of negative thoughts.

For example, think of someone who says, ‘I’m such a loser’, to which his friend responds ‘Don’t say that.’

A common retort to this is: ‘But it’s true’. As if this makes it a meaningful, valuable, or important insight worth considering!

Unfortunately, if you have this type of a mentality, your brain automatically assigns a high value to thinking that is deemed true or valid, even if the thinking is negative thinking that works against you.

This high value motivates your brain to keep the thought, remember it, and bring it to your attention, which is why negative thinking is naturally on your mind, even if you want to get rid of it.

To let go of constant negative thoughts that you think are true or valid, remove this glitch by developing the following attitude: so what if a negative thought is true or valid?

Also, know the following 3 things without any doubts at all:


  1. Know without a doubt that it always makes sense to reject valid but useless negative perspectives and opinions  

Often times, different ways of thinking are simply a matter of perspective, and there are negative and positive perspectives that can be considered equally valid.

The classic example is a glass that can be considered half empty or half full.

The difference is that a negative perspective is useless and can harm you, while a positive perspective is useful and will benefit you.

So, with different equally valid perspectives, it never makes sense to choose the useless negative perspective, when you can always choose the useful positive perspective instead.

  • For example, let’s say you consider the negative thought ‘I’m a loser’, and you come to the conclusion that this is a valid possible perspective that someone else might have of you
  • But when you consider everything you have going for you, you also see how it’s equally valid to think ‘I’m a winner’ as well
  • Even though you could consider these both equally valid perspectives, the second perspective is clearly better, since it benefits you and improves your life in so many ways
  • So you can know without a doubt that it makes complete sense to reject the negative view ‘I’m a loser’ and choose to adopt the useful positive perspective ‘I’m a winner’ instead.

  1. Know without a doubt that it always makes sense to reject useless negative truths and facts  

There are useful truths and facts that will benefit you, and there are useless truths and facts that will never benefit you. Negative thinking is firmly in the useless camp.

For example, it might be true and valid to think that you’ve been miserable for the past 10 years; this might be a fact. But it’s also true and valid to think that you can become a happier person; this is another fact.

Here’s the difference between these two facts:

Dwelling on how miserable you’ve been makes you feel worse and prevents you from becoming happier.

On the other hand, thinking that you can become happier makes you feel better and energizes you to do something about your situation. The result is that you predictably become happier faster and easier.

The lesson: it never makes sense to dwell on negative, useless truths and facts that don’t benefit you, when you could be dwelling on positive, useful truths and facts that benefit you, instead.

  • For example, let’s say you come to the conclusion that ‘I’m a loser’ is an indisputable fact. Even if that’s the case, so what?
  • After all, you could also see that ‘I’m someone who can become a winner’ is another fact.
  • The difference between these two ‘facts’ is that the first one makes your life worse by thinking it, while the second fact helps you improve your life faster and easier the more you appreciate it.
  • So it makes sense to reject the useless negative fact, and to accept and focus on the useful positive fact instead.

  1. Know without a doubt that valid and true does not mean good or important: therefore, so what if a negative thought happens to be true or valid?  

Indeed, so what if a negative thought is true or valid? Even if it is:

  • It is never good or useful
  • So it is never important or worth keeping

Once you get to ‘so what’ about negative thinking that you consider true or valid, it becomes very easy to let go of the negative thought, and to not have a negative mental attitude anymore.

And it also means you have intelligently come to the conclusion that a harmful, negative way of thinking does not make sense – no matter how true or valid it is – when you can always think in true, valid positive ways that benefit you instead.



Click on any item for more information about how to stop negative thinking from happening.

How to let go of negative thoughts the easy way

The easy way to get rid of negative thoughts is to use the Positive Thinking Tool. It has all the information you just learned baked into it, to ensure that changing negative thinking is fast, simple, and easy for you.

This means that you don’t have to be tormented by negative thoughts that contribute to stress, anxiety, depression, low self confidence, and so on. Instead, you can enjoy greater peace of mind, confidence, and happiness in less than five minutes.

With the Positive Thinking Tool:

  • You enter a negative thought that you want to eliminate
  • You complete 3 simple steps for eliminating your negative thought
  • You get rid of your negative thought in 5 minutes or less and don’t deal with it again

So try the Positive Thinking Tool right now, and get rid of any negative thought in 5 minutes or less.

It’s how to stop having negative thoughts the easy way.


Next: Get The Positive Thinking Tool For Free →


You are here:

Section 2 Lessons:

  1. How to think positively & stay positive: 6 steps
  2. How to rewire your brain to think positive
  3. How to stop being negative: 6 steps

Next Section In The Positive Thinking Course:

Section 3


About the author

Hi, I'm Dave Fonvielle, the founder of Always Greater. On this website I teach you step by step how to be happier and more successful achieving your goals, whether it's completing a small personal to do task, like doing the dishes, or a large business goal, like launching a new product. Get my free 3 Tiny Habits for Being Happier & More Successful training for all of this right here.