In today’s fast-paced and highly connected world, negative thinking patterns can develop quietly and persistently. Constant exposure to digital stimuli, comparison, and information can make intrusive thoughts and rumination more frequent, affecting focus, motivation, and overall mental wellbeing.
At LCCH International, we understand that meaningful change begins with awareness. By cultivating cognitive flexibility, the mind can be trained to respond with clarity, calm, and resilience — rather than automatic reactivity.
Navigating Negative Thinking in the Digital Age
Our routines are increasingly screen-driven, leaving little room for mental rest. This environment can strengthen automatic negative thinking loops and heighten stress.
Developing mindfulness and awareness allows us to observe thoughts without being controlled by them. In this way, cognitive flexibility becomes the foundation for breaking unhelpful mental cycles.
Cognitive Flexibility: A Key to Emotional Balance
Cognitive flexibility is the ability to adapt thinking and behaviour when faced with challenges. Both mindfulness practices and hypnotherapy techniques support this skill:
- Mindfulness teaches observation of thoughts without immediate reaction.
- Hypnotherapy helps reprogramme unhelpful mental patterns and reinforce empowering responses.
Together, they promote emotional resilience, constructive thought patterns, and the ability to respond to life’s challenges with balance.
The Thought Rejection Exercise
by Harold Wijetunge PDCH, MBSCH – Senior Lecturer, LCCH International
A practical way to strengthen cognitive flexibility is the Thought Rejection Exercise, designed to interrupt negative thought patterns and replace them with positive, constructive alternatives.
How it works:
- When a negative thought arises, pause and say — silently or out loud:
“I reject that thought.” - Immediately create a positive or balanced alternative and say:
“I accept that thought.”
Examples:
- “Today is going to be a bad day.” → I reject that thought. → “Today will unfold calmly and positively — I accept that thought.”
- “I won’t have the energy to do anything today.” → I reject that thought. → “I will approach the day with focus and purpose — I accept that thought.”
By practising this consistently — stop, positive… stop, positive… — the mind gradually shifts toward constructive thought patterns, fostering emotional stability and resilience.
Watch the Technique in Action
For a practical demonstration, watch Harold explain the exercise in this short video:
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