MY THOUGHTS ON THOUGHT

noun: an idea or opinion produced by thinking, or occurring suddenly in the mind.

Years ago I took a course by Mary Morrisey, a woman who had healed herself from a terminal illness and went on to build the life of her dreams. Although I found it valuable, I do not recall many details about it. However, there is one line that I remember so vividly that has shaped the way I think and has helped me tremendously.

Mary explained that everything in life happens twice, first in thought then in reality. Pause for a minute to think about how simple yet accurate that is. When I first heard it, I had an aha moment… it made complete sense – it just clicked.

The way she said it made me visualize it in a different way. I thought of the thoughts as seeds that I planted and in time they would grow into reality. At that time in my life I had started writing my first book. I had no idea what or how I was going to do it. I just knew I was going to do it.

The thought was the seed and had been born inside me and it was so clear and vivid that I knew one day it would happen in reality as well. Mary was right and despite not being a writer or having any connections or experience in the publishing world I managed to write and get my first book published in under 10 months.

This one line from Mary’s course had kept me on track and gave me everything I needed to continue when things came up to try to stop me. I think that is the one thing that we forget when we see a finished product or someone who has accomplished something we admire, we don’t see all the times that were challenging.

I had many moments of this. Even being told “you are not a writer so how are you supposed to do this?” I am not going to lie, this one sat with me for a few days but the line from Mary was the dominant force in my mind and continues to be until this day.

Life is full of thoughts that are generated by others and forced onto us. This happens through interactions with people we love and people we don’t and everyone in between. This happens through the constant stream of social media which is so addicting and believable if allowed it helps shape our thoughts.

It is harder than ever to have your own original thoughts. Influence has now become its own business and a big one at that. We are all influenced in some way whether we like it or no, but when was the last time that you sat with your own thoughts? When was the last time you had an original thought?

We live in a world of curated images and being told over and over what we should think, act and look. It is hard while you are trying to do that to think about what it is you really want and to have your own thoughts.

Since connecting the dots that things truly happen twice, first in thought and then in reality, I started to focus on what I was thinking. Each time I would run a negative scenario in my mind I knew that the same rules applied. If I thought negative thoughts then the outcome would be negative, but I live in the real world just like you and I know it is so hard to have positive thoughts all the time. In fact, it can cause more stress to try to force it. So instead, just being aware of what you are thinking is enough and the first step. When I start to go down a rabbit hole or I am having a bad day I give myself the grace and the space to just allow it. Then once I am ready and I am not in a bad headspace, I give thought to what it is I really want and I shift the focus to that.

This takes time and patience because your mind will always want to lean toward the drama. So a good way to ensure that you don’t get sucked in is to not make things bigger than they are by discussing them with a bunch of people. Once I started to truly see the power my thoughts had I became very aware of who I was sharing them with.

I have a very small close circle of three women that I talk about everything with. Beyond that I keep most things to myself. I stopped allowing anyone to contaminate my thoughts with their own fears but still have a trusted group of people to help me stay on track.

I used the same process to create many things since - from a new home to a successful business in a very short amount of time.

It is simple. Thoughts become things. I live and breathe this everyday.

Once we realize and embrace just how much power our thoughts have in our life doesn’t it make sense to not give that same power to someone else?

Taking control of your thoughts is your responsibility. It is true freedom and liberation regardless of your current circumstances. It is the first place to start.

Stop looking to others to tell you what to think and start to think about what it is you really want. Think about what that looks like for you and plant those seeds and water them while continuing to believe in your vision and watch them grow into reality.

Here are some tips and tricks on how to get started:

- Pick one thing that you have wanted to do or have and for a clear thought about it.

- Write it out on a piece of paper.

- Visualize what it will feel like once you have it.