How the Gita Helps You Stop Negative Thinking (Overcome Self-Doubt)
Riya Kumari | Apr 04, 2025, 23:59 IST
Let’s be honest. If negative thinking were an Olympic sport, most of us would have at least a silver medal. We spiral over a text left on "read," rethink that one embarrassing thing we said in 2013, and overanalyze a “K” reply like it’s an ancient scroll hiding the meaning of life. Fun times. And then someone—probably a yoga-loving friend who drinks matcha unironically—says, “You should read the Bhagavad Gita.” Right. Because that is the obvious solution to your existential dread at 2 a.m. when you’re Googling “Can you die from embarrassment?”
There’s a kind of exhaustion that doesn’t come from physical work. It comes from carrying thoughts—thoughts that gnaw at the mind, circling the same worries, replaying past mistakes, fearing what hasn’t happened yet. The weight of it is invisible, but it drags you down all the same. Most of us don’t even realize we are caught in it. We think overanalyzing means we are being responsible. We mistake worry for preparation. We call it being “realistic” when we are just afraid. But if thinking alone could solve everything, wouldn’t we all have perfect lives by now? The Bhagavad Gita doesn’t tell us to “just be positive.” It doesn’t ask us to ignore our struggles. What it does is redefine our relationship with our own mind. It tells us something so radical, so unsettling in its truth, that it forces us to rethink everything: Your thoughts are not you.
1. The Mind Is a Tool, Not a Master
In the Gita, Arjuna stands on the battlefield, paralyzed. He is not weak—he is a warrior—but his mind is louder than his purpose. Doubt, fear, guilt—they take over. He sees ten different futures, none of them certain, and he drowns in them. We do this too. We get so tangled in our thoughts that we forget to act. We let our worst-case scenarios dictate our choices. We hesitate, and in that hesitation, life moves past us. Krishna tells Arjuna, “The mind is a friend to those who control it and an enemy to those who don’t.” (6.6)
The mind is a tool, meant to be used. But we don’t use it—we serve it. We obey every anxious thought as if it’s law. We let a passing worry ruin an entire day. We trust every fear as if it has already come true. But what happens when you stop treating thoughts like ultimate truth? When you start observing them instead of obeying them? A thought says, “You’re failing.” Instead of believing it, you ask, “Is that true? Or is it just fear speaking?” Detach from the thought. See it for what it is. It changes everything.
2. You Can Act Without Overthinking the Outcome
We don’t just think too much—we think about things we cannot control. The Gita’s most famous teaching is this: “You have a right to your actions, but not to the results.” (2.47) At first, this seems unfair. Why shouldn’t we care about results? After all, effort is pointless if it doesn’t lead somewhere, right? But think of how much suffering comes not from the work itself, but from obsessing over its outcome.
You study for an exam, but instead of focusing, you worry, “What if I fail?” You apply for a job, but before even trying, you panic, “What if they reject me?” You love someone, but instead of loving freely, you wonder, “What if they leave?” This is why we hesitate. Why we start things and don’t finish. Why we dream but don’t act. Because we are so attached to controlling the result that we forget the only thing we can control—our effort, our sincerity, our present moment. Do the work. Let go of the rest.
3. Perspective Can Save You From Yourself
There’s a moment in the Gita where Krishna tells Arjuna to see beyond the battlefield. To see that what looks like destruction is actually transformation. That what seems like an end is part of something much larger. We forget this. We see our personal struggles as isolated, final, unbearable. But how many times have you looked back at something you once thought was the end of the world, only to realize it was just a chapter?
Not everything that feels like a loss is a loss. Sometimes, what you think is ruining your life is actually redirecting it. The job you didn’t get. The relationship that ended. The plan that fell apart. It only hurts because you can’t see the full picture yet.
4. The Self Is Not the Chaos of the Mind
The biggest reason we suffer is that we mistake the noise in our head for our identity. The Gita reminds us: You are not the shifting emotions. You are not the endless worries. You are not the opinions of others. You are not even the story you tell yourself about who you are.
You are the observer beneath it all. The stillness beneath the storm. When you recognize this, negative thoughts lose their power. They will come, but they won’t stay. They will whisper, but they won’t define you. Because now, you know who you are.
So, How Do You Apply This?
The Gita isn’t telling you to stop thinking. It’s telling you to think better. To see your mind as a tool, not a trap. To act with clarity, instead of drowning in hesitation. To trust that the unfolding of your life is bigger than whatever momentary fear you are stuck in.
The next time your mind spirals, try this: Step back. Observe the thought, but don’t become it. Ask yourself: Is this thought helping me, or just making me anxious? Do the next right thing. Even if it’s small. Even if you don’t know where it leads. Because at the end of the day, the greatest wisdom is simple: Live. Let go. And keep walking forward.
1. The Mind Is a Tool, Not a Master
Observe
( Image credit : Pexels )
In the Gita, Arjuna stands on the battlefield, paralyzed. He is not weak—he is a warrior—but his mind is louder than his purpose. Doubt, fear, guilt—they take over. He sees ten different futures, none of them certain, and he drowns in them. We do this too. We get so tangled in our thoughts that we forget to act. We let our worst-case scenarios dictate our choices. We hesitate, and in that hesitation, life moves past us. Krishna tells Arjuna, “The mind is a friend to those who control it and an enemy to those who don’t.” (6.6)
The mind is a tool, meant to be used. But we don’t use it—we serve it. We obey every anxious thought as if it’s law. We let a passing worry ruin an entire day. We trust every fear as if it has already come true. But what happens when you stop treating thoughts like ultimate truth? When you start observing them instead of obeying them? A thought says, “You’re failing.” Instead of believing it, you ask, “Is that true? Or is it just fear speaking?” Detach from the thought. See it for what it is. It changes everything.
2. You Can Act Without Overthinking the Outcome
Gym
( Image credit : Pexels )
We don’t just think too much—we think about things we cannot control. The Gita’s most famous teaching is this: “You have a right to your actions, but not to the results.” (2.47) At first, this seems unfair. Why shouldn’t we care about results? After all, effort is pointless if it doesn’t lead somewhere, right? But think of how much suffering comes not from the work itself, but from obsessing over its outcome.
You study for an exam, but instead of focusing, you worry, “What if I fail?” You apply for a job, but before even trying, you panic, “What if they reject me?” You love someone, but instead of loving freely, you wonder, “What if they leave?” This is why we hesitate. Why we start things and don’t finish. Why we dream but don’t act. Because we are so attached to controlling the result that we forget the only thing we can control—our effort, our sincerity, our present moment. Do the work. Let go of the rest.
3. Perspective Can Save You From Yourself
Sad
( Image credit : Pexels )
There’s a moment in the Gita where Krishna tells Arjuna to see beyond the battlefield. To see that what looks like destruction is actually transformation. That what seems like an end is part of something much larger. We forget this. We see our personal struggles as isolated, final, unbearable. But how many times have you looked back at something you once thought was the end of the world, only to realize it was just a chapter?
Not everything that feels like a loss is a loss. Sometimes, what you think is ruining your life is actually redirecting it. The job you didn’t get. The relationship that ended. The plan that fell apart. It only hurts because you can’t see the full picture yet.
4. The Self Is Not the Chaos of the Mind
Thoughts
( Image credit : Pexels )
The biggest reason we suffer is that we mistake the noise in our head for our identity. The Gita reminds us: You are not the shifting emotions. You are not the endless worries. You are not the opinions of others. You are not even the story you tell yourself about who you are.
You are the observer beneath it all. The stillness beneath the storm. When you recognize this, negative thoughts lose their power. They will come, but they won’t stay. They will whisper, but they won’t define you. Because now, you know who you are.
So, How Do You Apply This?
The next time your mind spirals, try this: Step back. Observe the thought, but don’t become it. Ask yourself: Is this thought helping me, or just making me anxious? Do the next right thing. Even if it’s small. Even if you don’t know where it leads. Because at the end of the day, the greatest wisdom is simple: Live. Let go. And keep walking forward.