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A Couple of Thoughts About Thought

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Alexa looks at the world a little differently than most...

So….. Whatcha Thinking About?

The thought of bearing all the troubles of the past, the troubles of the future AND troubles that have yet to happen is a certain type of death.  Fortunately, we control our minds and, thereby our thoughts. It isn’t as though some mystical little voodoo priestess controls us from an island in the South Pacific (or anywhere else for that matter).

We can decide the thoughts we’ll entertain and we can just as easily chase away the thoughts we refuse to entertain.  Thoughts that are coated in fear and deep fried in anxiety are what that I call “poisonous thoughts.”  Life’s too short and far too beautiful to spend any time whatsoever with these types of thoughts.  It would make as much sense as filling a glass with Tide and guzzling every drop.  The hideous effect that it would have on your stomach is similar to the effect “poisonous thoughts” have on your mind.

Have you ever known anyone who spent far too much time thinking? They can’t seem to find anything constructive to do with their minds for the life of them! So they sit and dwell on things they wish were different. Usually this means sending their thoughts into other people’s lives and focusing on things they wish were different about them. Wow, how productive is that?!?!

A lot of times you can tell a family member has been doing this very thing when you walk in and instead of saying, “Hi!,” they get an accusing look on their face and demand, “So, why DO you buy only name brand food? There’s nothing in the world wrong with off brands.”

Been there. Answered with a straight face, “Because we have more money than we know what to do with.”

You and I are not what we eat; we are what we think. – Walter Anderson

Always, always, always keep a close eye on your thoughts. Whether your thoughts tend to think about problems in the past or problems you think you may one day have – keep reminding yourself to stay in the present.

Know this:  Your thoughts set the stage for the production you call life. They determine so much! For one thing, they determine how many people will want to share center stage with you and how many will exit stage right the minute you show up. Your thoughts also determine how your production (life) will play out. They can either give you an edge, or push you over one.  So the minute a poisonous thought pops up on the scene, grab a hook and pull it off the stage. The longer you let it wander around, the more likely it is to think it’s part of the cast.

Choose your thoughts carefully.  Make your thoughts the kind of thoughts that make your world brighter and happier.  What’s the use of having any other kind of thought? Think about it.

Never bear more than one kind of trouble at a time.  Some people bear three – all they have had, all they have now, and all they expect to have.  – Edward Everett Hale

More Quotes About Thought

Negative Thoughts Destroy Lives

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“Change your thoughts and you change your world.”
– More Norman Vincent Peale Quotes

Destructive thoughts, defined, would be those thoughts which are negative in nature.  Those which tell you that you that you aren’t good enough or that the cards are stacked against you.  Destructive thoughts ask, “Why even try?!” and demand, “Life is not fair!”  Destructive, negative thoughts accomplish absolutely nothing but hinder absolutely everything.  A thought like this is like a bad co-worker: They do nothing to help get anything done and get their back up if you suggest they pitch in.  And like bad co-workers, they make more work for you and cause you to think how much easier life would be if they were on… I don’t know… Saturn.

While you can’t put your co-worker on a rocket to Saturn, you can load up destructive thoughts and send them on their way.  If, that is, you want to badly enough.

The problem is, people don’t take negative thoughts seriously enough.  We become so accustomed to thinking negatively that we don’t even realize we’re doing it.  When it comes to doom and gloom thoughts, we all need to practice a little R, R & R:

  • Recognize destructive thoughts.
  • Realize that we’re the ones in control of our thoughts.
  • Run in the opposite direction!

In the classic “How to Get Anything You Want” series of books, Elsie Lincoln Benedict had the following to say about destructive thoughts and “moods:”

The reason why predominantly destructive moods bring destruction to our lives is that our predominant moods automatically set the “gages” and fulfill every requirement for bringing to pass in our lives the destructive thing we are dwelling upon.

A long-cherished mood of any kind sets in motion the very forces that are essential to its materialization in the outer world.

Powerful words! No one in his or her right mind could read these words and not demand more from their thoughts, because as powerful as these words are, thoughts are twice as powerful.  Think about it throughout the day.  How many people have you known who have pretty much brought about the very thing they feared the most in their life?

  • How many hypochondriacs have you known who, literally, made themselves sick?
  • How many times have you seen people who kept saying they were “depressed” and “sad” only to become the most miserable person in town?
  • How many times have you seen someone fixate on feelings of loneliness and self pity so long and so profoundly that they ultimately become more alone than they ever were before.  Oddly enough, people don’t gravitate toward sadness and they run from pity parties like my oldest daughter, Emily, would run from clowns.  (A phobia I’ve never quite understood!)
  • How many times have you held yourself back with negative thoughts and nailed your feet in place with thoughts of self-doubt?  I know I, personally, have shoes with nail holes in them!

Hopefully these words will help give you a leg up on destructive  negative thoughts.  Remember to handle them with R, R, & R.  Recognize when they’re creeping into your mind. Realize that YOU are in complete control. Run!

How do you run? Oh, that’s the easy part.  You simply REPLACE the negative thoughts with positive ones.  If the destructive thought says, “You can’t do this!” – rearrange the words, squeeze out the negativity, and say “Of course I can do this!”

“No matter where you go or what you do, you live your entire life within the confines of your head.” – Terry Josephson

If your thoughts are swarming around a legitimate problem, zero in on a viable solution.  If a real solution seems out of reach, ask a few people for their opinion.  Talk it out.  The main thing is to be proactive and positive.  Always remember, if there’s one thing you’re totally and completely in control of it’s your thoughts.  So reign them in and make them work for you.  The ones that won’t?

Give them their ticket to Saturn.

What are You Thinking About?

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A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes. – Mahatma Gandhi

I just wrote an article for Out of Bounds that has me thinking…. about thinking. We, understandably, give a great deal of thought to our habits, actions, words, achievements, and so on.  But we often fail to acknowledge where they all come from in the first place:  Our thoughts.

If we tend to fall for the same old habits or make the same mistakes over and over again, maybe the place to actually start is in our minds.  If we can find (and address) the origins of our every word, reaction, and action, then we’ll stand a much better chance of actually changing the entire process and altering the outcome.

Click through to check out the article for yourself:  New Thoughts. New Lifestyle. New Life.

“Every thought is a seed. If you plant crab apples, don’t count on harvesting Golden Delicious.” – Bill Meyer