Addressing Negative Thoughts

When negative thoughts arise it is best to address them rather than pushing them down where they will surface again.
When we repress parts of ourselves, they don’t go away so much as they get buried deep within us, and they often come out when we least expect it. I am fond of saying they will come out "sideways".
 On the other hand, if we allow ourselves to be fully human, honoring all the thoughts, feelings, and moods that pass through us on a given day, we create a more conscious relationship with ourselves.
 Instead of blocking out thoughts and feelings that we label as negative, we can simply observe them and then let them go. They only get stuck when we react to them negatively, pushing them down and out of sight where they get lodged in our unconscious minds.
A healthier solution might be to develop a practice of following any negative thought we may have with a positive thought. This works well because positive thoughts are many times more powerful than negative thoughts.