Thoughts are Things

"What you thought before has led to every choice you have made, and this adds up to you at this moment. If you want to change who you are physically, mentally, and spiritually, you will have to change what you think."

Dr. Patrick Gentempo

Last night I remembered an important truth: What I put in my mind has a definite impact on how I feel. I can really change my mood, my reaction to things, and even my health by the thoughts and images I allow in. For example, when surfing the interwebs I came across a sort of sci fi fetish story for lack of a better way of putting it that was sort of Matrix-like and gloomy. It was the kind of story that leaves you feeling disgusted. All I could come up with last night in way of a personal explanation was "icky."

So when I got to the end of this truly dreadful story (which incidentally was poorly written and self indulgent if to allow the literary snob in myself out for a minute) I knew I had to fill my head with something happier. I spent some of the rest of the evening looking at old Frasier episodes on YouTube--filling my mind with laughter and wit--driving the ugliness out.

It was a good way to remember how much control I have over my experience. What is that old expression? "Garbage in, garbage out."?  Everything I ingest--mentally, physically, spiritually--impacts how I feel. Thoughts are eventually things.

I say eventually because unlike many New Thought aficionados I don't believe in the hocus-pocus of it. I think thoughts are like trends. You have to think a whole lot of negative thoughts to move your personal reality. It isn't a fleeting thought that changes destiny, but a concentration of thoughts over time. Over my morning coffee I have been thinking about how self critical I am and how critical I am of others as well. How can I change that? How can I use my words to be a more positive force toward myself and those I love the most on earth?

In particular I am thinking of my daughter and her lack of criticism toward most situations--and especially toward me. She is one of those people on earth that graces me with her unshakable belief in my strength, my talent and my impact on the world. At times her words of support and belief seem almost foreign to me--I am thinking of myself or a situation in such a negative light. It's not that I am generally negative, but I think I am generally critical. So where does critical stop and negative begin?

My old school beliefs or maybe plain old logic makes me think that being critical is a good thing. It's the power of being able to look at something and determine how to fix it. On the other hand, maybe not everything about myself or those I care for needs to be fixed constantly. Maybe unshakable belief definitely has its place.

So instead of seeing my world and myself--my body, my health, my fitness--as something to constantly be fixed, I can choose to believe in it. I can see the positive and affirm the good changes. I can believe in myself and those I love to make excellent choices. I can focus on what's right about my situation and self--visualizing a positive outcome.

It's a balance, to be sure. But it's worth thinking about.