Some of us can get so good at negative or obsessive thinking that we do it without even being consciously aware that we’re doing it. You may think I know I’ll make a poor impression at this job interview! the second you set up the interview. This type of negative thinking can happen faster than you can manufacture happy thoughts to counter it. The good news is that you can learn to interrupt these negative thoughts and then deal more realistically with them. One tactic is to interrupt negative thoughts by simply saying Stop! to yourself. Then switch to a positive thought before any other troubling thoughts emerge. A new, more optimistic thought—such as I will be relaxed, positive, and learn a lot from my interview!—will allow you to stop your negative thinking. This is a simple but highly effective technique.