Whatever you do, do not think about the Pink Elephant.
Think about anything but the Pink Elephant.
If you do think about the Pink Elephant, criticise yourself for doing so; then deliberately plan to think about something else.
When you fail, because by trying not to think of the Pink Elephant you repeatedly re-create it in order to re-identify what it is you do not want to think about – well, you should feel bad about that. You failed to control your thinking. You have lost control of your mind. You are now weak and there is something wrong with you.
Feel really bad about not being able to think about anything other than the Pink Elephant; focus on your mental failings and do this for so long the habit becomes unconscious and you now have an obsession.
To remove your obsession with Pink Elephants do the reverse – deliberately think about nothing but Pink Elephants and the nasty possible consequences of being squished by one for as long as you can. Forever, if necessary.
The Pink Elephant will eventually leave your mind of its own accord and will stop thinking you.
This is The Deliberate Distraction Paradox. Whatever you wish to avoid thinking or feeling about will loom even larger in your mind because your Unconscious sees your Conscious do this and assumes something genuinely dangerous is being avoided.
The moment you see yourself trying to enforce distraction you need to reverse it and go straight towards the nearest herd of Pink Elephants.
Those Pink Elephants get a bad press. They do not bite. Apparently they are not even real.
Regards
Carl
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