The first time I heard of this method, I was skeptical. The second time I heard it from an actual professional, I seriously wondered why in the world I was paying someone to encourage me to do something so simple. But, by opening my mind, I ended up learning to appreciate and use this method in my daily life.

I'm referring to a technique I use when I find myself beginning to think negatively. For universal purposes, I won't go in depth about what these thoughts could be; everyone is plagued by their personal struggles, big or small. Basically, this technique involves visualizing a stop sign when you begin to experience a negative thought. As cheesy as it sounds, it's a valid way to actively deal with negativity.

Say I'm going along with my day, talking to a friend, and then I notice a change- I feel down, stressed, anxious, or anything along those lines. I look straight through them and am no longer focused on the conversation, but on a personal, negative train of thought in the back of my mind. So, I visualize the biggest, reddest, brightest stop sign I possibly can, and I read it over and over. And hopefully, the stop sign stays put and I can go back to paying attention to what I should be paying attention too.

Or maybe I'm sitting around, bored because I somehow finished all of my homework, and easily susceptible to negative thoughts creeping into my resting brain. In these cases, I like to visualize myself in a store (I think it's usually a Target that comes to mind). I have an extensive list with me, and I walk around this made-up store, trying to gather everything on my list. Once again, it's cheesy, but it's a great diversion.

Expectedly, these methods of visualization don't always work. Sometimes my visualized stop sign keeps getting pushed down and crushed. Sometimes I start crying in Target while imaginary-shopping. I can equate it to when you have a song stuck in your head and no matter what you do, you can't stop singing it.

Nonetheless, it never hurts to try. I like knowing that I am actively doing something to attempt to stop my negative thinking. Even when I'm not successful, I at least don't feel helpless.

I do have to admit that pushing down my sad, negative, or way-too-deep thoughts sometimes makes me feel a little less "whole." I do think far too much (about things that truly don't need to be thought about) and let little things get to me. Even still, I sometimes feel a bit superficial because I try to be positive all the time. But part of learning to live a life without unnecessary negativity is realizing that sometimes negative thoughts are exactly that: unnecessary.