Imagine that you are an author and the story you are writing is one of your own life. As you sit and write, the things you put on paper have a direct and physical impact on your world.
What if I told you that in many ways this is the case? Although, instead of sentences on paper you are writing thoughts in your mind.
What is the distinction between a written sentence and one we conjure in our minds? Besides the fact that one is external and one is internal, for many people the only difference is that the written sentence is deliberate while the thought seems involuntary.
No wonder most of us feel like life is happening to us. If our thoughts have a direct and real impact on our minds, bodies, and life then don't they deserve more attention?
The concept of thinking thoughts on purpose is often a surprising one to people. Although thoughts are not visible, they often feel like they have truth and weight to them. We believe our thoughts. This would be all well and good if we were thinking helpful thoughts.
Unfortunately, the majority of people have a negativity bias. This is not to say there is something wrong with them, the brain just naturally has this bias. It has been well documented in Psychological and Neuroscience studies.
So here we are, writing the stories of our lives in our minds, with a grumpy, somewhat paranoid narrator. No wonder anxiety and depression rates are high, and on top of this many people do not feel like they have agency in their life trajectory.
So as you start out your week, I encourage you to consider this question:
What story am I telling myself, and is it helpful to me?
Because as the author you have the ability to change the story, if it is not helpful, and think a new story on purpose.
