The Thoughts That Have Been Running Your Life
I know we spend a lot of time trying to improve our thinking. I’ve said this in other posts, but we constantly are looking for good or better advice and in general, better ways that allow us to feel better about ourselves. There is a lot of value in learning. In fact, I suggest that everyone live a life-long pursuit of learning but be careful what you learn. In this, I have found that awareness tends to ask us a different question.
Instead of asking, “How can I think better?,” it simply asks, “What thoughts have I been believing and subscribing to without even taking notice?” When I started thinking about that question, a lot of things in my life changed.
Many of the thoughts that we let influence, knowingly and unknowingly, don’t show up at our door with flowers and a basket of fruit. They come by repetition. When the things we hear continually present themselves in our lives, at some point our ears and mind stop processing them with conscious thought. We just learn to accept them because of their familiarity. I don’t know why this is the case, but negative thoughts seem to outlast the positive ones. For instance, why is it easier for us to repeat phrases like “I’m not good enough,” “I am always behind,” or “Nothing good ever works out for me” than something like, “I really did a good job today” or “I am an awesome person”? Whatever the psychological reason is, over a long period of time, those thoughts lose “opinion” status and become almost like facts to us.
This is why awareness can be so important to our lives. It disrupts that kind of thinking pattern. And what’s cool about being aware or maintaining a conscious position, it doesn’t require an “all or nothing” mentality. It doesn’t demand that we replace all negative thoughts with positive ones. It just asks that we notice the things that are quietly taking control of those conversations within our heads. Once we can see those thoughts with clearer perspective, that authority those negative thoughts thought they had, are slowly removed.
Awareness is a powerful tool. It doesn’t do immediate life changes for everyone (there is a small percentage, I am guessing). It changes how we relate to those thoughts and how they have been conditioned for such a long time without any guardrails. The kind of breathtaking breakthroughs we desire isn’t necessarily about finding better thoughts. Sometimes it’s just recognizing that they have been quietly running your life and decisions for a very long time.
Stay mindful…
Rebirth
