People from all walks of life can sometimes experience negative thoughts. Having these thoughts from time to time is normal, but when their frequency becomes overbearing, you need to do something to stop them from affecting your work and life permanently.

Psychologically, you are a lot more productive when you remove your focus from negative aspects of your life. Self-doubt and feelings of loss and hopelessness can be detrimental to your productivity and your happiness. To help, 16 professionals from Forbes Coaches Council explore different approaches to overcoming negative thinking and getting back on track mentally.

Forbes Coaches Council members offer strategies for overcoming negative thought patterns.

1. Use Adversity To Accelerate Growth

Our thoughts are under attack, and learning how to use adversity to accelerate growth is the key to developing and protecting new levels of confidence. Viktor E. Frankl said that in between stimulus and response is the most powerful human freedomthe power to choose. Stop asking why this happened to you. Start asking what you contribute to make this happen. Correct the errors of the past. The choice is yours. - Colby B. Jubenville, PhD, drjubenville.com

2. Become Aware Of How The Brain Works

The amygdala, the survival part of the brain, looks for potential danger six times a secondthat's 21,600 times an hour! That's the scientific reason why we have negative thoughts. Becoming aware of our negative thoughts and how the brain works is the first step to change any negative thought patterns. The second step is to be willing to interrupt the negative thought as soon as we become aware of it. - Shiny Burcu Unsal, Academy of Neuro-Shine Technology

3. Practice Self-Compassion

Based on repetitive responses to stimuli, neural pathways are created in our brain and can become automatic responses or habitspositive or negative. To create a new habit, a new pathway needs to be created through repetition. As we create this new habit we may stumble, but instead of giving up we can choose to treat ourselves with compassion, understanding that in time we'll have created a new habit. - Elizabeth Semion, Elizabeth Semion & Associates

4. Keep A Journal

Track the internal voice and its "work" in your head. Write down what it says to you in a journal. Try to be more mindful of its auditive qualities. Is it a man or a woman's voice? Is it someone you knew or know and you internalized the voice? Is it you talking to yourself? Once you begin to humanize the voice and journal regularly what it says to you, it will lose its power over you. - Mickey A. Feher, The MANTORSHIFT Initiative

5. Defy Your Wiring

At any given time there are both positive and negative things happening, but we are wired to pick up on the negative for survival. However, we can choose what we give our attention to. Have you ever bought a new car and then noticed the same car everywhere? They were always there, just not on your radar. What positive things are you missing? Change your focus and you will break negative patterns. - Cindy Barber, The Dash Group

6. Meditate Every Day

In a world full of negative information overload, the daily practice of meditation and other forms of age-old wisdom that have stood the test of time are key. Why so effective? For instance, meditation can not only calm, center and provide you with clarity to live a balanced and full life, but it can also be used as an inspirational growth tool for your friends, clients and all people you come into contact with. - Jon Michail, Image Group International

7. Find New Evidence

Negative thought patterns only work because you find evidence to prove them to be true. For example, "I'm no good at presenting" becomes true when you fumble with the clicker and mess up your slides. To shift your thought patterns then, you need to find new evidence to support a new belief. So "I'm good at presenting" becomes true when your colleague compliments your introduction. - Gabriella Goddard, Brainsparker Leadership Academy

8. Fight Negativity Bias

Our brains are wired to focus more on negative thoughts than positive ones. This is a result of a phenomenon called negativity bias. To overcome this problem, start by recognizing specific patterns that frequently arise which result in negativity, and replace them with new ones. Create a positive work environment and avoid overanalyzing or obsessing about things that are out of your control. - G. Riley Mills, Pinnacle Performance Company

9. Know Your ABCs

Use the ABC tool. Identify the Adversity and then your Beliefs about the adversity. For C, or Consequence, identify the actions that take place from our belief. D is for Dispute, Distance and Distract. Dispute by asking what the evidence for the belief is. Distance and distract by turning your direction elsewhere. E, or Energize, by asking yourself how it felt to dispute your negative thoughts. - Vanita Bellen, True North Coaching and Consulting

10. Practice Weekly Positive Focus

At the end of every week, make a list of ten things that happened positively in your week. Document these things and keep them in a running journal. Every month, quarter and year, review your weekly list and consider what you have learned. You will soon learn that you are able to find the positive in negative situationsmaking lemons out of lemonade. - John Knotts, Crosscutter Enterprises

11. Reprogram Thoughts With Coaching

Negativity is an emotion. E-motion is "energy in motion." Negative energy is low and prevents progress. Positive energy is high and increases happiness and satisfaction. Coaching can help reprogram thoughts of gratitude and abundance. Negativity comes from not achieving or receiving. Coaching can unlock solutions. I also recommend DISC for exploring behavior and tips to overcome a negative mindset. - Denise Russo, SAP

12. Ignore The ANTs

Rid yourself of automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) first by being mindful of when you have them. Do something physically to wake yourself upsnap a rubber band on your wrist, change your seated position, take a breath. Then, rationally challenge your thought by asking yourself, where is this coming from? Is it true? If it is true, what can I do to feel better? And, if it's untrue, come up with a new thought to replace. - Loren Margolis, Training & Leadership Success LLC

13. Practice The Art Of Review And Renew

The first and last five minutes of every day have power for the rest of the day. I challenge leaders to spend the first five minutes of the day thinking about the five things they are excited about that day while making the statement "this is the day that has been made and I will rejoice in it." That evening, they are to repeat the same practice while reviewing the five best things from the day. - Ken Gosnell, CEO Experience

14. Remember You Are Not Your Thoughts

Research shows that we can work on our identification with thoughts and take a distance from theme.g. by walking around in the room while saying "I cannot walk in the room." Some experiments have shown that people can endure touching very high temperatures by applying strategies to distance thoughts. Catch your negative thought, replace it with a constructive thought and repeat the new thought. - Katharina Schmidt, Inspiration & Discipline

15. Get To The Root Of Your Emotion

Feelings arise because we keep thinking a specific thought that then triggers a positive or negative emotion. To let go of negative feelings, we must know why we feel that way. We must feel into it, staying with it with a curiosity born out of compassion. "What am I feeling right now?" is how to start. "What do I need right now?" is how to resolve it. Sometimes, all we need is to listen in. - Anne Beaulieu, Walking Inside Resources Inc.

16. Be Open To Seeing A Therapist

While there is often a negative social stigma attached to seeking out qualified mental health professionals, there is absolutely nothing wrong with focusing on our own mental well-being. The truth is, most of us will greatly benefit from seeing a therapist (at least occasionally), which can help us develop healthy coping mechanisms and learn to recognize and combat our negative thought patterns. - Jonathan H. Westover, Ph.D, Utah Valley University & Human Capital Innovations, LLC

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16 Coach-Approved Tips For Getting Rid Of Negative Thought Patterns - Forbes