Thought Mastery

We’re all built with incredible propensity to imagine the worst. Let’s say you notice a strange spot on your chest. You will start to imagine "something is wrong." This quickly becomes “it’s a STD” or “it’s cancer”. In no time at all, you arrive at the idea that you’re going to die from this. Well, that is it then, time to plan the funeral.

You see how we can worsen matters? And it’s not just in areas such as our well-being; it’s our children, our careers, our finances, our partner, or the superior we thought we offended. If we start catching ourselves imagining disastrous scenarios that are not grounded in facts, we’ll realize that our thoughts can go askew very easily. And they affect our emotional and mental well-being. Sometimes, they can even make us physically unwell!

To reduce unnecessary angst, concentrate on the scenerio at hand. Nothing more and no less of it. A spot is just a spot. Until you see a doctor or get more information, further thought is useless and can be dangerous.

The thing is, a thought is just a thought. Some thoughts may be more beneficial, but that makes them no more real.

The trouble starts when we buy into the thoughts. When we start believing that they have some untold truth or reality.

A good way out of this trap is to visualise a continuum, a line between two extremes. At one end is the mindset that "A Thought Is Reality." At this extreme, people think that whatever comes into their head is real. In other words, "if I think it, it is real." The extreme is what we known as psychosis, which is, no matter what others or bare facts tell me, I simply choose to believe my thoughts.

At the other end of the continuum is the mindset that "A Thought Is Just A Thought." If a thought starts to torment a person at this end of the spectrum, he or she is able to take a step back, taking note that a thought is just a thought, and let it go. If it warrants some follow-up action, go ahead, but until then, don’t let your thoughts slip into the gunk of fear and imagination.

Thoughts really only have as much power as we empower or give them. Nothing more and nothing less. Become aware of your thoughts. Master your thoughts and you master your world.