Anyone who has spent much time in achievement oriented self-reflection is well acquainted with his or her thoughts. Conscious, mindful individuals are constantly lamenting the causes and cures for the constant barrage of these thoughts, and the process of recognizing, interpreting and acting on them. Some of our internal thinking is positive and drives great action and outcomes. That is the good stuff! I am talking about the negative thoughts, which have statistically been proven to be the majority of them! We often grind over what we are thinking, how it affects our feelings, and how we act (or don’t).
I suppose the ultimate purpose for this process is control. Responsible, achievement minded people desire control. We want to control our internal thinking and therefore control how we feel and act. We also believe this control over our thinking will be the key to positive change and performance, and sometimes it can be. That is not a bad thing, but perhaps this control is not always the answer. There are times when the battle for control over negative thinking does not lead to where we want.
How about this? What if you recognized and realized what your thoughts actually were, “just thoughts”. What if you just left them alone? Imagine if you did not have to control, change or act on them, especially when they are negative. Instead, you just realize they exist. You accept the thoughts for what they really are “just thoughts”. Imagine that, just thoughts, only ideas in your head! They don’t have to drive you, define you, or mean anything. You don’t have to react to them, just acknowledge that they are there, and let them be.
By accepting and ignoring negative thoughts instead of reacting to them, you take their power away. The power of negative thought can be debilitating and often guides us into negative and unproductive states. Thoughts are like plants, if you don’t water and feed them, they don’t grow, they die. What if you stole their power away by just accepting them and not obsessing over them? What if you didn’t act or react to them? What if you didn’t allow them to grow? Perhaps this would create more room for the good thoughts. Water and feed the good thoughts, what a concept! Good thinking creates real power. When good thinking is combined with commitment, powerful and positive outcomes emerge.
…Brought to you by Miracle Grow aka Marty Smith
