Thoughts Are Like Clouds
Do you ever have thoughts fly into your mind? It is more common than many of us would like to admit. Sometimes my thoughts are not what I would want to publicize on social media or even to share privately with those that love me. They aren’t me. But they certainly come in and out of my mind like they plan to set up shop and stay for awhile.
Some people believe that the average human has 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts a day. They also report that 80% of those thoughts are negative and 95% of those thoughts are repetitive. Take just a moment to think about that. If 80% are negative and if 95% are repetitive, we are being bombarded day in and day out with same old negative thinking about our lives and who we are.
Geneen Roth has spent much of her professional life studying our thought patterns and the impact that they have on our behavior. She advocates that we take stock of our thinking patterns instead of allowing them to go unchecked and identifying how we see ourselves. She makes an analogy between the thoughts in our minds to the clouds in the sky. The clouds pass along the sky as our thoughts pass along in our minds. The clouds are not the same as the sky, and our thoughts are not the same as our minds.
By recognizing that our thoughts are not us, we can begin to take stock of them and determine which of them are ideas that we want to hold onto, and which ones of them need to be pushed out. Joyce Meyer, in her best selling book, ‘Battlefield of the Mind’, talks about this in great depth. She advocates that her readers learn to stop and recognize that there are having thoughts . . . thoughts that may be valid, thoughts that may be lies, thoughts that may undermine who we are and seek to pull us off course, thoughts that may be different tomorrow than they are today. They are not who we are. They are just thoughts. . . . no more and no less. Like our emotions, we have the power to choose what we do with them.
The trick is stopping long enough to evaluate our thoughts. Andy Stanley, in his book, ‘Better Decisions, Fewer Regrets’, writes that we can convince ourselves of just about anything. If there is an emotional footing for the thought, it is much easier for us to accept it. So, if I realize that I am a drug addict, that sets me up for certain ways of thinking and opens the door to opportunities in my life that someone who never takes an aspirin might not be subject to.
The thought, for example, that we want a hot fudge sundae or that we want to buy something new or that we want to go and do something . . . sometimes these thoughts are just our subconscious mind’s way of helping us avoid dealing with unpleasant experiences. We decide what we will do with them. It is similar to getting drunk. You can drink and drink but when the alcohol wears off, the same unpleasant experiences are still there waiting to be addressed. Avoidance doesn’t work. . . but noticing the thoughts and how they make us feel within our bodies allows us to acknowledge them and make a decision about what we need to do with them. Typically, we can ignore the thought, add it to the calendar to address at another point in time (you actually have to put this on the calendar and follow up on this), give into the thought, or throw it out with the trash.
What negative and repetitive thought patterns have been attacking you? What negative and repetitive thought patterns are attacking your loved ones? This is one of those conversations where I find a real need to access the power of my spiritual being. As a Christian, I also ask for God’s help regularly to monitor my thoughts because I am aware that they control my behavior. If I leave my thoughts unchecked and unchallenged, it is just a matter of time for me before I will, in some way, act on the thought. Left unchecked over time, this one unchecked thought can easily become a habit. And it may not be a habit that is going to help me get where I am trying to go in life.
Changing Habits is a wonderful and amazing complimentary resource that may be useful to you, as it has to numerous others. It will help you to consider your mindset (growth or fixed) and to help you as you evaluate your thoughts and habits. If you need some extra support, please reach out to me directly at https://memaw.life/contact.
As always, I am excited to partner with you and support you from whatever point in your journey that you find yourself. God bless.
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Memaw Wisdom Coaching
September 2023 Edition
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