Thinking By Linda Stowe
Recently I’ve been thinking about thinking. Not all the time – I can’t concentrate for that long – but occasionally a random insight will cause a synapse to flash.
That happened this morning when I came across an audiobook called, “Don’t Believe Everything You Think.” This statement sounds like it could be a psalm from the Bible or a right-wing scare tactic, but actually it is the title of a self-help book by Joseph Nguyen. The book describes how our thinking influences our emotions and overall sense of well-being.
The book contains several exercises and examples, but here is one that stood out for me. To illustrate the power of thought, the author gave the following instructions:
1. Think of a time when you felt the most joy.
2. Think of a time when you felt a great amount of stress and dread.
As he asked me to think of each instance, he followed up with what were you thinking? What were you feeling? Then he said it is likely that in the first instance all you remember was the moment and how you felt. There was no thinking involved, just an impression of what was creating that moment and the strong emotions you felt. In the second instance, the moment of stress/dread, you could probably remember exactly the kinds of things you were thinking because it was the thinking that created the emotions.
When he said these things, I could see that they were true. For my moment of joy, I remembered the time that I was given the employee of the year award and how I felt looking out at all my coworkers who were smiling and applauding. I felt appreciated and cared about. In the second instance I remembered a time when my boss was on a trip and there was a problem with her accommodations. The moment I remembered was how I felt as I waited for her to arrive at work on her first day back at the office. My mind was racing with thoughts of what she would say and do. Just now as I was recounting both instances, I felt the same emotions that I felt at the time. Feeling those emotions so strongly even now, years later, illustrates the power that thinking can have on one’s emotions.
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Polly here.
Just one thing.
Thoughts become things. I think.
We should make them good things.
Thinking By Linda Stowe
