Transform Negative Thoughts: The 14-Day Challenge

I have a question for you. Your task is to decide if it is possible.

Here is the challenge: For 14 days, nonstop, you do not have to engage in any negative thinking. You should not have any negative thoughts in your mind. For 14 days, non-stop, you do not have to think or bring any negative thinking.

Now, you must be thinking for ten minutes, “Can I do this?” If you can do this, then definitely commit to it. But I can say with confidence that no one will be able to take up this challenge.

If I stop you here and say, “Do not think of a ,” you will not think of a purple elephant at all. But what happened? Just as I said, a purple elephant came to your mind. This is the quality of the mind; this is the quality of the brain.

To address why our minds think negatively, let’s first explore the underlying nature of this tendency—and what we can do about it.

The Velcro Effect: Understanding the Brain’s Nature

First of all, we have to understand that our mind is Velcro, which means it sticks to the negative. It is Teflon for the positive; it does not stick. It takes effort to stick to the positive thought, but the negative comes immediately.

Thoughts arise such as: “Maybe I will not be able to do this,” “Maybe it is trying to fight with me,” “Maybe it is trying to harm me,” “I should not go here,” “Something is wrong,” or “It is dark here, I cannot go there”. Negative thinking happens with everyone at every turn and every point in life.

It is a guaranteed phenomenon because it is protective. It is a part of the brain installed in a particular way as protective behaviour. This software was designed to keep the brain always alert and protected.

For example, I was in the , and from my room I could hear the roar of a lion. Literally, we were in the middle of the jungle. All the doors were closed, but once in a while, I thought, “If the lion comes…”. This wiring should happen because if the lion comes and I am not scared, then it will not work. For my protection, it is very important.

Negative thinking should be there. But what happens is that we become so negative that, out of 500 thoughts, 495 are negative, and only 5 are positive. We must ask: How do we change this scale? How do we move towards positivity?

Curating Your Environment

Remove negative influences slowly. Avoid negative people around you as much as possible.

Negative wiring happens because you mirror your environment. You absorb negativity through osmosis. Mirror neurons respond to negative things like alcohol and smoking. Stay away from them.

If you deal with negativity at home or work, turn it into positive thinking every day.

The P-O-S-I-T-I-V-E Technique

If you want to shift from a negative mindset towards a positive one, you have to remember . Every time there is a negative thought, follow these steps:

1. P - Pause

First, you will pause.

2. O - Observe

Observe your mind and keep a distance. nIf you focus on negative thoughts, you will become negative. You are not your mind. Instead of saying “I-mind,” say “my mind.” "I, the mind", never speaks. Put space between yourself and your mind and bring it to your awareness.

3. S - Shift (to Intentionality)

Shift your thinking. Change to “I”—Intentional. That means you have put an intention with all your attention and .

4. V - Very Important Blessings

You have to put “V,” which means “very important”, blessings in your life. Whatever is negative, you will shift yourself and remember such a blessing. You will remember a positive thing, even if it is from your childhood.

Even if nothing seems positive, remember: you are alive. Every day, 250,000 people go to sleep and never wake up. That’s a fact. At least you have the blessing of waking up today.

Today, you hear this; you have ears; you see, understand, try, and improve. Each day is a blessing. When you show your brain positivity, things change.

5. E - Engage

You have to engage with it for some time. With this thought in mind, you have to give yourself some time.

When you think very negatively, you will pause, observe, breathe, see it, and shift. You will remember the blessing and engage with it for a while. When you do this on every negative thing, again and again, you will keep rewiring. A time will come when your brain will be completely rewired, and negative thoughts will stop.

The Power of Breathing: Ujjayi

Some people say, “I have to finish negative thinking,” but you cannot simply finish it. Many believe that or alone will make them think positively, but if you are feeling fully negative and trying to write affirmatively, there will be no shift.

The most powerful shift when you have to finish negative thinking is the power of breathing. There is such a breath power, a pranayama, with whose power you can definitely finish it. This power is with Ujjayi.

Ujjayi means victory. Victory means overcoming your negative thoughts. When you do Ujjayi again and again, the negative loop—the fear loop, the insecurity loop, the negative thinking loop—gets broken.

How and When to Practice

When should you do Ujjayi? As many times as possible; there is no restriction on Ujjayi. You just have to learn how to breathe with the palate. It is a special way, and you should definitely learn .

Balancing

Ujjayi is such a powerful breath that it can directly balance alpha activity on both the left and right sides. Alpha power is the scan of the neurosense. This is an investment to understand the power of your brain.

Left Brain Alpha: If alpha comes more in your left brain, then you get a lack of motivation, lack of drive, low mood, and negative thinking.
Right Brain Alpha: If your alpha comes more on the right side, then you get excessive thinking, overthinking, and unnecessary, extra thinking.

This balance is very important to correct. You can do this balance with Ujjayi breathing and Anulom Vilom. As you practice Ujjayi, you naturally shift from negative to positive thinking.

Building the Positive Shield

Motivation alone and affirmation alone work to some extent. But when your wiring changes and your alpha is balanced—which is what we find in , top leaders, and —negative thoughts may come, but they will not reach you.

These individuals form a protective shield. To make that positive shield, you have to remember that blessing again and again, pause, breathe, and observe at that time. Remember POSID (Positive) and keep engaging with it. You can guarantee that you will end negative thinking forever.

The Biology of Command

If there is a lot of negative feeling and you are not able to come out of it, there is an extreme possibility that you have tried everything. Definitely go to a or a neurologist. There is no stigma. I have not understood why people consider neuropsychiatric illness a stigma. When a bone breaks, people ask because it is visible from the outside. But here, when chemicals are not formed, and circuits are not working properly, it is about the commander.

If there are a lot of soldiers in a very big war standing with their guns, no one does anything until the command of the commander comes. There is such a big body made up of 50 trillion cells and so many chemicals; every cell is capable on its own, but the command is always of the and the .

Why does it wait for the pituitary, hypothalamus, or master gland? Because from there comes the ignition of consciousness and the route to manifesting your reality. This is the only way from where you get current, from where your origin is, and from where your actual presence is.

Accept the challenge that you will not think negatively for 14 days. It is not easy, but I have seen many peak performers do it. Although the tendency is negative, if you do it, we can understand how to move from negative to positive through the power of a positive brain.