Thought Editing: The Power of Thoughts

"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
Philippians 4:8

Have you ever noticed how much attention we pay to protecting ourselves from external threats? We fortify our homes, install security systems, or even have firearms and guard dogs to keep ourselves safe and preserve our lives. 

 

However, we often overlook and fail to protect ourselves from the possible enemy within us - our thoughts. 

 

Our thoughts are powerful over our emotions, moods, behaviors, and motivation. How we interpret or think about a situation determines how we feel and react. Our life experiences shape our thinking patterns, eventually becoming habits and the lens through which we interpret information.

Our emotions are an excellent indicator of our thought patterns. Negative, disorganized, or faulty thinking will manifest as feelings of anger, anxiety, and confusion. In contrast, positive thinking will make us happy, calm, and confident. Sometimes, we may not realize we have specific thought patterns because they become “automatic”. However, our emotions and moods can still reveal our underlying thought habits. Our thoughts and feelings work together to influence our decisions or actions, creating the reality we experience.

Many of us experience irrational thoughts at some point in our lives. This may include  thinking about the worst-case scenario, focusing on one negative aspect of an event, and forgetting all the positive aspects, jumping to conclusions, exaggerating our mistakes, blaming ourselves even when we are not at fault, expecting something terrible to happen again based on one negative experience, and so on. These ways of thinking can become problematic if they become habitual thinking patterns and impact our outlook on life experiences. 

Do any of these ways of thinking feel familiar?

My worth depends on what I do—I am my work. 

If I'm not perfect, then I'm worthless.
Asking for help means I'm incompetent or not doing enough.

Test and Analyze your thoughts:

Take five minutes to observe your feelings during this period. Count how many negative and positive emotions you feel. Record your observations. What does this tell you about the ratio of your positive to negative thoughts?

When you have an emotion that is unpleasant, ask yourself, what thought led to this? Is there evidence to support what I believe is true or accurate, or am I making it out to be more than it is? Some people are unable to control negative thoughts that lead to psychological distress and should seek professional help.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog. I greatly appreciate your thoughts on this topic, and I hope my writing has encouraged you to reflect on your thoughts and how they shape your life.

References:

Corey, G. (2023). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy (11th ed.). Cengage Learning US.

Williams, P., & Menendez, D. S. (2023). Becoming a Professional Life Coach: The Art and Science of a Whole-Person Approach (3rd ed.). W. W. Norton.