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SCOTT DOW - 

"You can't just dismiss a negative thought. If something's bothering you, it's going to keep gnawing away at you until you replace it with another thought.

Self-help experts tell you to think positive and replace negative thoughts with positive thinking; but for most people, that doesn't work. For it to stick, the thought you're trying to substitute has to be believable, and overly-positive, wishful thinking takes a huge leap of faith that most people don't have!

So you want to replace a negative thought with a rational thought, because rational thoughts are easier to accept and they're much more productive.

Negative thoughts are assumptions and conclusions that are very subjective. We think we can read people's minds and see into the future, but we can't. Negative thoughts are emotional, and rational thoughts are logical. But emotional thoughts are produced much faster than rational thoughts, so you're going to have to be patient.

Rational thoughts are objective. They're factual, logical and non-emotional. They don't lean negative or lean positive. They're neutral. And when you replace a negative thought with a rational thought, you can build on that rational thought with this simple question:

What's my best course forward?

If you base that question on a negative thought, you're going to head in a negative direction. But when you base the question on rational thoughts, your behaviors are going to head in a more productive and positive direction. So don't live with your negative thoughts and don't chase positive thinking. Replace the negativity with rational and neutral thinking. You're going to feel better, and you'll perform better too."

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