Benefits of habit “Practice contemplating negativity”

✓ Helps gain perspective on your life or situation
✓ Increases feelings of positivity with current situation
✓ Can relieve stress in long-term

First step:

Spend 5mins in negative visualization

Progress:

1. Start by visualizing the worst possible scenario in your current life. What if you lost your health, a family member or a friend, your home? Think these unfortunate scenarios for 5mins this week.
2. Next week, increase the time spend contemplating like this to 10mins.
3. Keep increasing weekly contemplations, until you spend 30 minutes every week doing so.
4. You may start adding extra days to your contemplation schedule.

Helpful tips to make it a habit:

Same time is key. Even if it’s a weekly affair, do so at the same time, over the weekend or in the evening after work. That way, it will become a habit.
Trigger your mind. Physical triggers can help you remember it’s time to reflect and overthink. Set yourself an “overthinking pillow” that you use to lie down on or hug and think about worst possible scenarios. Keep it in visible place.
Let the app help. The reminder function that comes with this app can help you greatly in not skipping the contemplation time.
Reward yourself. Once you’ve gone a month with at least one 30-minute contemplation, reward yourself by going to see a comedy with a friend. Thinking such negative things is not healthy, so you need to balance it out with a big positive.

Tips for beginners:

✓ Write down the worst possible. Sometimes, dishing it out on paper can be a great help. List the worst possible scenarios that can happen to you and re-read them during your sessions, maybe add some more, to keep it fresh.
✓ Act on feelings. If contemplating these negative events that could happen to you makes you want to say to a friend or family member for much you love and appreciate them – do so. Don’t hold back. They might be surprised, but certainly they will feel good and you will feel even better.