stopping negative thoughts vs accepting the bad ones

[Enigma]

Accepting the negative is neither a form of surrender nor resistance. We neither give in to what is unpleasant nor push it away. Mindfulness is an all-inclusive faculty to be cultivated, but that does not have to mean that we have to get overwhelmed by what enters its field.

Telling oneself to stop thinking negatively is unlikely to yield the desired results. It is like trying not to think about a white bear, to use a classical example from experimental psychology. In actively trying not to think about it, we inevitably think about it even more. Thought suppression has been shown to lead to effects opposite from what is intended, including an increase in ruminative thinking.

You are spot on in being aware that you are thinking negatively, making sure you are mindful of those thoughts, and seeing them for what they are. We are not our thoughts and they do not have to control us.

In accepting the negative (neither surrendering to it nor resisting it), such thoughts lose their power over us. We cease to feed them with the energy that comes from resistance and surrender. Instead, we learn to notice them in a manner that is non-judgmental. Gradually, these lose their hold over us.