Start The Year Off Right: Throw Away Negative Thoughts

Don't let an unwanted thought get you down today. Get on track with your New Year's resolutions and new beginnings with this simple way to get positive.

Recent research published in Psychological Sciences found that when people wrote down their thoughts on a piece of paper and then physically threw the paper away, they mentally disposed the bad thoughts as well.

Researchers asked high school students to write down good and bad thoughts about their bodies and then look back on what they wrote. Some were told to throw them in the trash and the other half kept theirs and reviewed them for grammar mistakes. 

“However you tag your thoughts — as trash or as worthy of protection — seems to make a difference in how you use those thoughts,” said study co-author Richard Petty of The Ohio State University. “When they threw their thoughts away, they didn’t consider them anymore, whether they were positive or negative.”

If there's a negative thought in your way today, toss it. Starting 2013 off on a good note will be worth the trip to the garbage can.

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