If the saying “you are what you think” was entirely true – can you imagine how much more chaotic (or colorful depending on your perspective) this world would be. Stop for a moment and try to recollect some of the thoughts you have had recently and consider if each once were true simply because you thought it. Your boss would in fact be a live green-eyed monster, your children would resemble gremlins who eat everything including the house itself and you might in actual fact be a lump of lard wobbling on the couch after stuffing your face with all of Easter’s remaining chocolates because we only live once!
Instead, thoughts are the pathway or the driver to what we manifest in our lives. Thoughts are our beliefs about a situation and how we make sense of it or create meaning to it. What we think influences our emotions and behaviour, and therefore our reality.
Do we really stop to consider whether the thoughts we have are in fact true? Could they possibly just be intertwined echoes of the difficult experiences we have had in our lives, fears that create the most imaginative elaborative stories, and simply the tantrum of our inner child who hasn’t received the holding he/ she needed?
Michel de Montaigne humorously (and truthfully) said: “My life has been filled with terrible misfortune; most of which never happened.”
A life-changing perspective is that we are not our thoughts, but rather the observer or the awareness of our thoughts. I like to see my thoughts as a roommate (one that I have to live with forever) and therefore worthwhile to build a relationship with. If my roommate (thought) is negative this will likely cause a conflict and I’m either going to avoid them or fight back which will create a hostile environment (mind-space). If instead I begin to understand what issue my roommate has and assess their view objectively and with fact, this may allow for broader perspective and the possibility of amicably resolving the conflict.
The average person thinks 65000 – 75000 thoughts a day – this in itself is motivation to cultivate a healthy relationship with your roommate!
Let’s begin learning your ABC’s in this month’s challenge to get you started.
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