“What we focus on， we empower and enlarge. Good multiplies when focused upon. Negativity multiplies when focused upon. The choice is ours： Which do we want more of？”
——Julia Cameron
我們總是過分在意和放大我們所關注的事物，好的事情會被放大，壞的事情也會被放大，關鍵在與我們怎樣選擇。
——茱莉亞·卡梅隆
Are you carrying around some junk？ You know， those hurtful and disastrous things that you may have been told by someone during the course of your life. It was supposed to be taken with a grain of salt or simply ignored but most of the times we take that criticism and wear it like a hat of shame！ Negative thinking can make all sorts of things incredibly difficult. It is like a leak in your confidence bucket——constantly drip-drip-dripping away your confidence and self esteem.
Negative thinking can be useful to help assess the possible pitfalls in a potential plan of action， but you need to be able to turn it on and off at will. Otherwise， negative thoughts will sabotage your self belief， your confidence and your achievements. Here are some effects of negative thinking：
Sleeping problems
It can become very difficult to get to sleep， because you feel worse at night. There are a number of reasons why. While you’re trying to drop off to sleep， there’s nothing to distract you from the worries that may have been lurking in the background during the day.
Sapping your self-confidence
The more problems you think you have， the less able you may feel to cope with them， and this can increase your sense of helplessness. This reduces your confidence， making you more vulnerable to your fears.
Unhelpful strategies
Under this kind of pressure， it may become very difficult for you to concentrate and carry on with everyday life， so that your problems tend to build up. It’s emotionally draining to feel anxious all the time. It may feel as though your whole life is being taken over by it.
Negative thoughts are not reserved for just a few people or situations. Everyone is plagued by negative thoughts at one time or another. However， once you begin thinking about what you’re “thinking about”， you’ve already taken the first step to controlling negative thoughts.