Number of thoughts passing through the mind is counted in thousands. We have tendency to choose from that heap of thoughts a particular set and our favorite are so called negative thoughts.
There is also an ongoing well-meant advice on thinking positively. It can be a good advice under a condition that we do it wisely.
Elisabeth Gilbert in her famous book compares thoughts to clothes. I like this metaphor.
Thoughts like clothes are at our disposal, not the other way around. Nevertheless we can get very attached to either part. We have a habit of sticking to the same gear and sometimes we simply don’t notice what we have in the wardrobe, we just like to fill it up with a new stuff, but use the same over and over again.
Choosing and selecting clothes can be difficult, but choosing and selecting thoughts may seem impossible. Sometimes they seem to be glued to the mind. So how can we dissolve this glue?
I find it helpful to create a distance to thoughts; to look at them from a different angle, different perspective; to move to a space where the thoughts can be witnessed like objects appearing on a distance screen.
I find such a space in meditation. It is a room where I can observe thoughts, feel safe and regain some control over them. And if I want I can close doors to that wardrobe of thoughts and pay no attention to it at all. That’s meditation.