You Are Not Your Thoughts

Getting older has allowed us to accumulate a lot of wisdom and a broader outlook on life. Along the way, we have learned some valuable lessons, but in many ways, these things that we’ve learned and all the thoughts that are in our heads can come back to bite us. All of these thoughts, all of these experiences have created images in our heads of things we’ve seen and done; and these images create thoughts that may now be our own worst enemies.

We pay little attention to anything but our thoughts. Our entire days are directed by our thoughts. I have to go here, I have to do this, I should have said this, why didn’t I say that? But there is more to you than your thoughts; as a matter of fact, your thoughts may be getting in the way of who you really are.

Think of your mind as artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence gathers up all the information that has ever been written about a particular subject and reports it back to you. Your brain does the same thing whether it has seen it in a movie, heard about it from someone else’s life, or read about it in a book. Perhaps it was the plot of a book that you read 20 or 30 years ago. Your brain cannot decipher what is actually going to occur in your life as compared to all the scenarios that your brain has been exposed to throughout your entire life. Your brain has no power to know what is actually going to happen in your life. This is the problem! It can surmise what might happen. It can remind you of what happened to other people. It can remind you of what you read or saw, but it has absolutely no power over what is actually going to happen in your life. In other words, your brain cannot know a future that has not yet happened. When we worry and believe our thoughts, we might as well believe a fairytale.

So here in lies the problem. If you cannot rely on your brain to make decisions, what can you rely on? Practice observing your thoughts without getting carried away by them. This allows for more objective evaluation. Base your decisions on facts and evidence rather than assumptions or fears. Actively look for and allow yourself to truly consider alternative viewpoints to challenge your own and gain a broader understanding. Your thoughts have no ability to predict the future. You will be the one that will create your future, and you will do that from your own personal emotions and your intelligence. Your intelligence is made up of what you have actually experienced, what you have learned, and your current abilities. You know what your shortcomings are, you know what your possibilities are. You have your own intelligence, emotions, and capabilities. Use them to shape your own destiny.