7 Types of Thinking to Give Up Immediately

Have you ever met someone for the very first time and seconds later you cannot recall their name? Or maybe you have had the all too common experience of arriving in your garage with little recollection of the journey home. All these everyday common occurences indicate that the average person is spending a large portion of their lives lost in thought.

It's often been referred to as the monkey mind and many people can probably relate to the analogy of a playful child. The truth of the matter is that your brain loves to play. It is "on" every moment of the day. And if there is nothing entertaining in the outside environment it often resorts to playing indoors.

But what's it playing with? You might be surprised to know it's largely negative and useless thoughts. There are seven typical thoughts that commonly capture attention and steal it away from the important things in life.

What If's (or Living in the Future)

"What if" thinking sucks your attention down a dark hole. Your life experience shows that you cannot predict, control or anticipate the future. So why do you do it? Your brain is like a threat detecting machine constantly scanning the external environment for potential harm. The trap comes when you create stories around these potential threats in the mistaken belief that thinking about them will protect you from them. In fact it does the opposite. You can invest so much time and negative energy in something that is not even real. When you are inside your head planning a future you can't control, you have less attention to give to the things unfolding right in front of you.