Let's Think About Thoughts

Let’s Think About Thoughts!

Our mind is a very complex and amazing organ… it can be what makes us or breaks us.  It is a very difficult thing to control (if that’s possible).

I want to talk today about thoughts and how they can affect us.

I don’t know about you but I struggle every day with thoughts that are probably not that good for me.  Because I suffer from depression (which is managed with medication) this can be especially difficult.  I find myself often comparing myself to others, finding faults with my own inabilities or abnormalities.  I want to be the ideal weight, height, size, and look gorgeous darling (add a little snicker laughter here)… or at least on the “purdy” side. Setting all of that aside, the point here is my thought process and trying to develop a healthier menu.

So the question here is: “How do I change unhealthy thought patterns”? 

A dear friend recently pointed out that our mind can only focus on one thought at a time.  Of course knowing myself as I do, I had to challenge this declaration within my own self.  I immediately began putting it to the test. HA!!! Guess what?  He was RIGHT!!! As I sit here and laugh at myself.

So what do we do when the unhealthy thoughts pop up or try to inundate our minds?  We have to purposely change those thoughts. This takes work and practice on our part; we have to actively make a choice and change the thought process.  Some days this course of action seems to be easier than others.

Think about it… our thoughts can and does literally shape our life.  Some ways of influencing our thought process is what we feed our mind.  What we read, what we watch on TV, what we listen to on the radio and who we hang out with.  I believe every sense of our being influence our thoughts.  Sight, sound, touch, smell and taste.  You can set yourself back in time (in your mind) with any of the above.  Our thoughts can also be so strong they can disturb our physical being also.  We can literally make ourselves physically sick via our thought process.

So what do we do?  We consciously make a effort to change the unwanted thoughts when they come up, by replacing them with a thought that we like and accept as a good replacement.  Yeah… yeah, I can hear you now “easy for you to say”… actually it is easy to say, however choosing to make that change is not so easy at times especially when you are depressed or constantly in pain etc.  I’m not saying it’s a cure all or it makes everything all better, what I am saying is, it can and does help IF we choose to apply it. 

So the next time thoughts that are negative, displeasing, hurtful, hateful, disturbing, offensive, upsetting, unsettling, tormenting, sad, stressful, difficult, painful, inappropriate, improper, unacceptable begin to invade your thoughts… attack back with thoughts that are good for you, and good to you.

I’ve been learning to ask myself “why am I still holding on to this thought”?  Turn it loose and replace it with a better one.