80% of All Thought is Negative & 95% is Repetitive

A friend of mine felt particularly negative about an issue that had occurred with one of her clients, as they were planning to leave a bad review about her job performance with her supervisor. The details of this situation are not important, other than the fact that my friend was already dealing with many negative feelings and was, therefore, more susceptible to reacting strongly to other negative situations in her life.

As a happiness coach, my job was to help her break free from this pattern of negative thinking and replace it with positive thoughts. I encouraged her to focus on the good things in her life, of which there were many. Specifically, I decided to teach her that 80% of all thoughts are negative and 95% are repetitive.

However, before doing so, I researched this statistic as it did sound a bit extreme. After all, 80% of all thoughts are negative AND 95% of all thoughts are repetitive? It could be true, but it sounds a bit excessive, doesn’t it?

In my research, I discovered that the survey which led to this data wasn’t necessarily scientific. However, regardless of the source, this statistic struck me as particularly interesting, realistic, and applicable.

For one, many people do tend to struggle with negative emotions on a regular basis, replaying them in a constant loop and spending up to 80% (or more) of their time in a negative state. Similarly, it is likely that people spend 95% of their time replaying the same thoughts over and over again in an endless loop, hoping that reliving these emotions will somehow change their lives.

However, true happiness is found in the present moment, so dwelling on past traumas or future anxieties is often what is responsible for the majority of the negativity that people feel.

In other words, while negativity is important to acknowledge, it is only beneficial to a certain point. Eventually, we should strive to stop thinking negative thoughts and instead focus on positivity.

Indeed, being positive brings many more advantages than being negative, or as I stated in my book Optimal Happiness “positivity trumps negativity” in terms of the benefits it brings, citing extensive research that proves this exact point.

Secondly, being perpetually negative is simply a waste of time, especially when considering the opportunity cost of not engaging in other activities.

Therefore, it is important to address negativity, but it can be done relatively quickly by adopting a solution-oriented approach to curing negative emotions. This approach consists of the following steps:

1. Identify the problem
2. Propose a solution to the negative situation
3. Implement the solution
4. Review the results
5. If necessary, go back to steps 1 or 2

Indeed, the identification of the problem should be very straightforward, such as “my car broke down, I need money to fix the car, I don’t have money.” Then the possible solutions come in, such as “borrow money,” “get a new job,” or “sell the car.” After that, a person starts implementing the chosen solution, which can take time, but they are already working on the issue, so there is nothing else to do but wait. There is no need to stress over something that will just take time to implement, especially considering that most of the things we want will take time to obtain.

Naturally, we also want to review the results of our solution-oriented approach to problem-solving, but that should be done quickly, similar to how it was done in steps 1 and 2. There may be some consideration over whether the chosen path is the best one overall, not being afraid the fear of missing out (FOMO). However, considering that most people, including myself, have more than one problem, the time we invest in any single endeavor should also be limited.

In other words, once we adopt a solution-oriented approach to negative emotions and happiness, we can relax. Realistically speaking, something is always happening in our lives, so we need to plan accordingly. While it is important to give some thought to our problems, it shouldn’t be excessive, and we must remember to enjoy life.

Overall, the statistic that states that 80% of all thoughts are negative and 95% are repetitive makes a lot of sense to me, not because it is necessarily accurate, but because it explains something important regarding how our minds work.

As such, I apply it a lot to my personal life, especially when my thoughts become negative and I start obsessing over a specific issue. Then I realize that my mind is just going in circles, I am being negative for no good reason, and I haven’t applied a solution-oriented approach. As soon as I change that, I go back to being one of the happiest people alive, not because I have no problems, but because I am actively working on maintaining a positive life one step at a time.

Logically, the questions becomes:

• What about you?
• Do you sometimes overthink your negative emotions?
• Do you find your negative thoughts to be mostly repetitive?
• Do you think that a solution-oriented approach to negative emotions could help you?

Feel free to share any particular issue you are struggling with in the comments or send it to us in a private message. We are here to help you live your best life.

Stay happy!