The Power of Thought

“Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny. ” (From my Mother's refrigerator)

Watching your thoughts allows you to quiet the inner noise that they make. 

It is incredibly easy to get down on yourself, your accomplishments, your work, your life. And sometimes all we need is a good cry and curse at the world. But after you let that out of your system, it's important to regain focus and center it on the positive. When you stop sending negative energy from your thoughts into the world, and instead, send positive, hopeful energy, your life will be dramatically improved. This small little change will have great impact on your outlook, and on your life as a whole. 

Hope lives within us all. Some of us naturally contain more hope than others, and some of us have the natural instinct of shoving it deep down. In reality, we don’t all have to be the obnoxious “Positive Polly” or “Negative Nancy”. We can choose to be somewhere in between. Utilize this hope and send it out into the world to enhance your own quality of life. 

I've talked before about change and growth, and how the only time one can truly change is if they personally want to. Similar to that idea, increasing your positive nature is absolutely possible, you just have to genuinely want to make this change. 

Be self-analytical. Read your own body; see if it is filled with enthusiasm and motivation. Be strong enough to recognize if you consistently find yourself doubting your own accomplishments, or laking excitement and determination to finish tasks. You can never have too much hope. It is the driving factor that makes all things possible. It is an invisible friend pushing you along throughout life believing in you.

Being hopeful is thinking positively. The entire concept of the book The Secret, is based around the idea that our thoughts are powerful enough to be turned into facts within our own real life. It explained that if we send positive vibes towards things we want in life, both tangible and emotional, we will see a positive impact, a change for the better. I think this whole idea lies within the assumption that we all really are a little bit psychic.

There is power within us. We see it everyday in cancer survivors, women who stand up against rape/abuse, recovering alcoholics, and the list goes on. These people would not have been able to overcome their hardship if they didn’t have the power or strength come from within. Now the question is did their strength come from the power of thought? Is their survival and betterment entirely attributed to their ability to change/turn their thoughts into positive statements? 

I do not personally think positive statements and good energy is the sole strength behind a fulfilling life. However, I do believe that spending significant periods of time in a day sending positive vibes into the universe not only makes your own body feel better, but also opens your mind and soul to positive changes. I believe that enhancing your own quality of life, regardless of your own past or present situation, is largely dependent upon positive energy. 

“Watch your thoughts. Watching your thoughts is a small change that offers you the amazing opportunity to stop the wheels from turning every second and gain critical perspective. (p48 Easier Than You Think, Richard Carlson)

To rephrase, taking a minute to step out of your own brain, look and listen to your own thoughts, allows you to look at a situation that was causing you turmoil more clearly. We are the controllers of our own happiness. Others absolutely have an impact on your life, but in the end, you can decide how much you are affected. By quieting your mind, and listening to your thoughts as something on a morning talk show, you just might be able to handle the hardships.

Accept all your emotions, let yourself be cranky and mad at the world. Accept them as your emotions, then let go, and move on. It’s all about attitude. It’s up to you to make your day.

It may seem as though, this is downplaying the difficulty of watching your thoughts. If only we were all rational when going through an emergency or emotional roller-coaster ride. But I guess that’s the point. In the end, we have a choice. We can either let our thoughts eat us alive and control our every move in life, or we can step back, take notice, watch the movie and listen to the radio, and then move forward.