Understand The Continuum

Yes, thoughts are things. They are the *initial* cause to any ultimate effect. Each act of human creativity, solved problem, invention — indeed, all progress — is preceded by thought.

The right thoughts — combined with correct action and fortified by burning desire, belief, determination, and dogged persistence — are nearly unstoppable.

Let’s look at three different types of thoughts and how they serve (or do not serve) us.

Positive Thoughts: These make us feel good; they are empowering. They produce uplifting feelings that put us in a good place for productivity, accomplishment, and overall happiness.

While these good thoughts can simply happen on their own, by and large they are the result of conscious choice and *awareness.*

Indeed...

Key Point: Positive, productive thoughts are also the result of seeing the good side of things/people/circumstances rather than the bad (congruent with reality, of course). And, very importantly, feeling gratitude for the many blessings in life, big and small.

Neutral Thoughts: These bring forth neither good feelings nor bad. It’s not so much that they are realistic as much as they are without conscious perception or deliberation.

Negative Thoughts: These include anger, resentment, ingratitude, victimhood, complaining, grudges, etc. and can absolutely eat away at a person. They result in bad feelings and, unchecked, can only undermine happiness. Immensely counterproductive, they are also of an unconscious nature. And they go hand-in-hand with poor self-esteem.

As one who lived like that for many years, there are still times I can fall into this trap. However, I now quickly catch myself and consciously interrupt the pattern.

If you ever read the brief Daily Quote email sent from Abraham-Hicks, you’ll notice that nearly 100 percent of the time, the message has to do with allowing yourself to feel good and consciously “deciding” to feel good.

As shared by Eckhart Tolle in his wonderful book, The Power of Now, “Emotions are thoughts that reverberate throughout the body.”

Important: All of those emotions and thoughts affect our mental well-being.

Choose consciously and carefully!

Today’s Exercise: Determine where you usually stand on the continuum of thought, ranging from helpful to harmful. Work on upgrading that continuum to a more consistent level of higher, productive thinking. To do this, consciously check yourself. You might find it helpful to put a sticky note with a reminder of such at various places where you’ll see them throughout the day.