The Ripple Effect of Thoughts

What you think, you feel. What you feel, you believe. What you believe shapes your behavior. And this culminates into the way you live your life.

Your thoughts… they can be powerful and consuming. They can seem so real you can touch them. They can be magnetic in a way that they are so attractive they are on replay in your mind. They create fantasies that live in the mind but not in your reality. They can seem like ‘truths’ but they are only your ‘truth’ and not necessarily the truth of others. They can seep into your mind without an invitation. They can spiral you down a relentless path of confusion. They can cause physiological reactions.

And they are temporary.

We can surrender our power to people and events and allow these things to control our thoughts. Sometimes when we are in a moment and a thought enters our mind it can send us down the wrong path. But what we forget, in this moment, is the power of choice. We can choose what we want to focus on and how we want to respond.

When a thought enters our mind we may feel a certain way, we may replay the thought, or we might react. But are you consciously aware of this thought and your decisions around it? Most of us do not operate this way. We have thoughts, we feel, we quickly analyzed, we react. Your conscious awareness is key in realizing that you can make a thought stop at any time. You can control the thought and you can react differently.

When we have an experience (an event, words people say, actions of others etc.) we filter that information through our own belief system and then a thought will form. Not understanding the intention of the event, action or words can lead to misunderstandings. And misunderstandings can lead to hurt feelings, confusion, and unwarranted reactions. Understanding your beliefs, the genesis of them and when and where they serve you is paramount to the experiences you have.

So, what are your beliefs? Our beliefs originate from our upbringing, our social circles, the experiences we have and to what we are exposed. We are conditioned. And then our beautiful mind constructs a ‘truth’ based on our collective experiences. We naturally gravitate towards others who share the same beliefs. To be clear we are not necessarily chatting about ‘well, what are your beliefs?’ We just know when we ‘vibe’ with others. You subconsciously know who you are not vibing with and this is because your underlying beliefs differ.

So how do you evolve your beliefs?

You become intentional.

Intentional about wanting to evolve. Evolving your thoughts, beliefs, and behavior. For instance, if you genuinely wanted to lose 20lbs you would change your thoughts and behavior to achieve that goal. You may start working out every day, change your diet, hire a trainer. Point being your actions had intention behind them. This same intention is required if you want to evolve your beliefs. You expose yourself to what you would like your beliefs to evolve to. So, if you want a more grateful happy life, you become intentional about the thoughts you let occupy your mind, you focus and gravitate to those things that bring you joy and you engage in activities, conversations and people that make you happy.

This does not happen because a Genie granted you a wish.

It is a process.

A process that takes time and intention. By choosing your thoughts you are on the path of becoming intentional about how you would like your life to unfold. This does not mean that you will never have negative thoughts or emotions; in some instances, this may be very much warranted. It is about creating a practice of becoming intentional about the beliefs you strive to have. As the saying goes; choosing not to change is choosing to stay committed to right where you are. Change will get you the results you are looking for in achieving a joyful life.

Give voice to your thoughts below!