• LAUNCH YOUR DREAM
  • BE A MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER
  • STARTING OVER MIDLIFE
  • HAPPINESS THROUGH ACTIVISM
  • TRAVEL THE WORLD
  • GET HEALTHY & FIT
  • BUILD SELF-CONFIDENCE
  • BRAVE LIVING
  • WRITE WITH US

8WomenDream

Dream Big Stories

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • CONNECT
You Are Here Home » BRAVE LIVING » Dream Advice: Overcome Negative Thoughts on Your Dream Journey

in BRAVE LIVING

Dream Advice: Overcome Negative Thoughts on Your Dream Journey

Last updated on May 16th, 2013 at 03:21 pm

Dream Advice: All courage takes inspirational image quote by Sue Levy

Your dream journey will require that you go for it with your every being. You should be warned. My advice: It’s not for the fiant of heart.

Your dream will push you to your very limits and may leave you wallowing in a negative space more often then you’d like to admit, which is generally the catalyst to giving up on your dream. Sometimes you don’t feel strong enough to carry on and you feel that you can’t deal with one more rejection. You feel drained when your dream journey becomes stagnant.

You feel stupid for ever trying.

Does this sound familiar?

You are not alone.

I have had firsthand experience at all of this on my dreamer’s journey. One moment you are thriving in your dream field, the next you can’t get out of bed because everything is not going your way. It takes someone very strong to turn the negatives into positives. You must overcome your negative thoughts to stay on your dream journey and make your dreams come true.

Dream Advice: When you have positive thoughts inspirational image quote by Sue Levy

Here is my advice on what negative thinking is and how you can pursue to overcome it —

What is negative thinking, anyway?

Negative thinking or Pessimism is describes by Wikipedia as:

A state of mind in which one anticipates undesirable outcomes or believes that the evil or hardships in life outweigh the good or luxuries

What that means is :

A person who thinks negative (a pessimist) is always expecting the worst, always doubting, always speaking down and has no hope for himself/herself or the future.

What a sad picture, isn’t it?

Why would anyone want to be around someone like that? We ask ourselves this question, yet we do it so unknowingly and we are not aware that we practice pessimism on a daily level.

So how do you know if you are thinking negative?

Attributes of a Negative Thinker

  • Always fearing the worst
  • Tend to always be a cynic, always focuses on the negative aspects of a situation
  • Uses Sarcasm to get a point across by making snide remarks under the cover of being funny
  • A bit overcautious and suspicious most of the time
  • Grumpy and moody, hardly wears a smile
  • Holding grudges for a long time
  • Gossips and always tries to magnify the negative aspects of people rather than the good.

We are all guilty of the above mentioned attributes, yes we all gossip, we don’t wake up thinking positive 24/7, but becoming a positive thinking takes time and practice.When thinking negative we just boost our fears, anxieties and depression.

Being depressed then leads to more negative thoughts and before we know it, we are drowning in the sea of negtivity and we do not see why we should Pursue our dreams. This kind of thinking is indeed Toxic!

Dream Advice: When you have negative thoughts inspirational image quote by Sue Levy

Examples of Negative thoughts

  • I can’t do it
  • My situation will never get better
  • Lets just cancel everything, the plans are all messed up
  • I can’t trust anyone
  • My heart has been broken too many times to fall in-love again
  • My Ex said I’m not good enough, So I guess it’s the truth
  • I am not worthy of anything good
  • I’m not a good mom
  • I will never forgive you
  • I cant do it because in 1999 you did (Insert action here), therefore I cannot help you (Holding grudges)
  • I care of what they think of me so I cant be myself
  • It’s too late, I give up
  • I’ll go for my dream, one day
  • I will never be able to afford that

6 Ways to help you start eliminating negative thoughts on your dream journey

We think all day, everyday. Thinking cannot be avoided, but we can definitely choose which way we think. To over come negative thoughts we need to Silence the Inner “Negative Voice”

1. Acceptance

Once you accept that your thoughts are negative and make peace with the fact that you are aware of being in a negative space, then only can you pursue to start working on the problem. that is the first step to pursuing a positive mindset. You need to let all pride out the door and be willing to let go and move on.

2. Express Gratitude

Just being Thankful is something that helps me through my down days. When you feel you have nothing valuable in your life, I advise you to take a note pad and write down 5 things you are grateful for. Once you’ve done that.

Affirm them, read them over and over and start believing that you are in a better space. You’ll better instantly.

3. Smile

This is a little trick I learned from watching a sitcom a few  years ago. The Forceful smile:

Stand in front of a mirror, force your biggest white smile and hold it for a minute. You end up looking so silly that you start laughing at yourself. Laughter is good for you as it releases good endorphin’s that eliminate negative feelings. So smile away!

4. Surround yourself with someone positive

I love doing this as I feel being around people who make you happy is such a breath of fresh air when you are covered by your cloud of negative darkness. Take a walk to a good friend, or just go visit your grandmother or mother. I have learned that grandparents always love us unconditionally.

Even a phone call to a positive person could help you snap out of that negative head space.

5. Give yourself achievable goals

When you feel negative about your dream and you feel that it cant be achieved over night. Set yourself achievable goals. It can be simple as :

Planning your next talk, Planning your next blogpost or just doing simple research. Work does not have to be dreadful or mind boggling. We should give ourselves credit for the little things too. With that completed, you’ll feel productive and have meaning to your day. It’s much better than sulking in bed.

6. Do a good deed

This is an old time favorite: When you feel bad, do something good.

So you find yourself overwhelmed and everything is just bad around you. Start doing simple things to make other people smile. Share your meal with someone who has no food, give your friend a call to encourage her or simply write an email to someone you haven’t seen in years.

Good deeds reap good results. More importantly, they reap good positive feelings!

When you feeling those negative feelings arise start repeating this positive affirmation until you start believing it:

I am worthy of everything good in my life, I am worthy of love and I give myself permission to say yes to positivity

Just Pursue It!

– Sue

Related Stories:

  • Encouragement quote
    A Secret for Turning Negative Thoughts Into Positives
  • choose-your-words
    A Surprisingly Simple Way To End Negative Self-talk
  • Dealing With Negative Comments
    Dealing With Negative Comments
  • brain and lucy by santa rosa visitors center
    What if it Takes 30 Years to Achieve a Dream and…
Sue Levy

Sue Levy is the founder of the South African Just Pursue It Blog and Inspirational Women Initiative. She’s a motivational writer and media designer, who is obsessed with everything inspirational with a hint of geek. She thrives on teaching women how to be brave and take big chances on themselves. You can find Sue on her Twitter page @Sue_Levy.

Note: Articles by Sue may contain affiliate links and may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on an affiliate link.

Filed Under: BRAVE LIVING

Some of the posts on 8WD contain affiliate links or links to purchase products or programs from 8WD contributors. This means 8WD or the contributor may make a small commission if you make a purchase. The 8WD affiliate links help offset the cost of hosting this website and the contributor links help support the dreams of the contributor. Please check out the 8WD Legal Page for more details.

Thank you for your continued support!

« The Secret to Teaching Women How to Feel Beautiful
How Do I Write a Keynote Speech? »

Check it out

  • LAUNCH YOUR DREAM
  • BE A MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER
  • STARTING OVER MIDLIFE
  • HAPPINESS THROUGH ACTIVISM
  • TRAVEL THE WORLD
  • GET HEALTHY & FIT
  • BUILD SELF-CONFIDENCE
  • BRAVE LIVING
  • WRITE WITH US


The 8WomenDream Dream Tote Bag

About the 8WomenDream Tote Bag
US – 10oz Cotton
Dimensions (External Dimensions)
• Height – 18″ (45.72cm or 457.2mm)
• Width – 15″ (38.1cm or 381mm)
Handle Dimensions (Internal Dimensions)
• Length – 29″ (73.7cm or 736.6mm)

Recent Dream Stories

  • 8 Solstice Traditions for Focusing on Your Big Dream this Year
  • Winter Solstice: What Will You Do With 1 Minute More?
  • Why Halloween Costumes Can Help Discover Your Big Dream
  • How the Equinox Can be a Catalyst for Change
  • 5 Strategies to Live Your Wildest Dreams
  • Starting Over as a Single Mom Wasn’t My Big Dream
  • Warning: Big Dream to Be a Motivational Speaker Won’t Always Obey Your Plans
  • Dance to Relieve Stress to Focus on Your Big Dream

Inspiration

More About 8WD

WE BELIEVE EVERYONE HAS THE POWER TO ACHIEVE BIG DREAMS.
 
IT IS OUR SINCEREST WISH THROUGH THE SHARING OF PERSONAL STORIES ABOUT WHAT IT’S LIKE TO TRY TO ACHIEVE A BIG DREAM THAT WE WILL INSPIRE YOU GO AFTER A BIG DREAM TOO.
 
YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT 8WOMENDREAM, HERE.

8 WOMEN DREAM | COPYRIGHT All RIGHTS RESERVED © 2025 · LEGAL

Welcome to 8WomenDream Where Big Dreams Are Shared
The 8WomenDream website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're OK with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. ACCEPT REJECT READ MORE
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT