We all think negative thoughts occasionally. It's part of being human. But when you're always thinking negative thoughts, especially about yourself, then it's time to change. Otherwise you'll start to believe those thoughts and you'll run the risk of sending yourself into a downward spiral.

Expose your thoughts

Write your negative thoughts down!

This can be scary at first because, until now, they've just been buzzing around your head and seeping into your consciousness.

But it's a great way to expose your negative thoughts.

Once you've written a few down, take the time to dissect them. Work out whether they are valid - chances are quite a few of them won't be - and work on ways to address any that stand up to the light of day.

This is a great technique because staring at your thoughts in black and white gives you a lot more objectivity and can often stop them festering away.

Nip them in the bud

Negatively thinking about yourself tends to have a habit of growing as time passes.

So it's usually best to nip them in the bud as soon as you start to feel them materializing.

How you do this is up to you but because the early stages of negative thoughts are quite fragile, simple methods often work best. So literally laughing them off can work very well at this stage whereas once they've grown into larger thoughts they can fight off this technique more effectively.

Mind your language

Negativity breeds negativity.

So be careful of the words you use, whether they're spoken out loud or just rattling around your mind.

Keep the use of negative words to a minimum and start to train yourself to swap them round for positive words wherever possible.

You may not be able to excise negative words completely from your vocabulary but you can certainly aim to reduce the frequency that you use them over time.

This will have a positive effect on reducing the number of negative thoughts you have about yourself.

Keep yourself busy

If you're bored or haven't got much to do, there's much more chance for negative thoughts about yourself to form and breed.

If you keep yourself busy and occupied - without becoming a busy fool in the process - then your mind will be much more occupied with the task at hand than it will be about forming negative thoughts about you.

Learn to relax

You've probably noticed that people who are more chilled out also have higher self esteem.

So take the time to learn how to relax.

This could be a ten minute power nap or a gentle stroll somewhere. Or it could be a more organized method of relaxation such as taking a massage or meditating.

However you choose to relax, make it part of your regular weekly routine.

You'll find that these times of quiet contemplation will allow your mind time to deal with those negative thoughts and banish them to the back of beyond, where they deserve to be. You'll be pleasantly surprised at the result.

Get more help to stop negative thoughts about yourself and check out these tips for overcoming negativity.