When children get into a cycle of negative thinking, it can be very destructive to their emotions, self-esteem, and overall sense of well-being. Negative thinking stems from feelings of lack: focusing on not having enough resources, time, attention, etc. This can be caused from trauma or can be learned through the modeling of adults or older children. Regardless of where the negative thinking stems from, the habit and cycle of focusing heavily on the negative is harmful.
If you notice your child resorting to negative thinking or negative self-talk, it is important to spend some time observing in what situations they may be triggered to do this. Is their negative thinking triggered when they are presented with a new challenge? Is it brought on by social situations? Is it worse in certain environments? Recognizing the negative thinking as a form of anxiety can help you begin finding the patterns in which negative thinking is triggered.
Once you’ve gathered some information about the triggers, work with your child to help them evaluate their own thinking. Teaching children to think about their thinking is called meta-cognition, and is a very powerful tool for self-improvement. If children can begin recognizing that they are actually in control of their own thoughts and their thoughts help create their reality, they will feel more empowered to control their mind, their mood, and their emotions.
Teaching children to work through challenges with a positive outlook, starting with the assumption that other people are there to support and help, and that even when they face challenges or set-backs, there is value in the process, can help shift their overall mindset toward more positivity.
Additionally, challenging negative thinking by pointing out times when things did go well and worked out in their favor, and then encouraging them to challenge their own thinking, can help them flip their internal script and stop the negative self-talk when it starts.
The power of the mind is a beautiful thing. It can be used to harness inner strength and overcome adversity. Teaching children to shift their thinking toward positivity and use the power of their thoughts to impact how they view their reality can have a huge impact on the how they approach challenging tasks, how they interact with others, and can have a positive impact on their future success.
