For those of you old enough to recall Joe Friday from Dragnet (or those of you young enough to have found it on Nick at Nite), you may recall his infamous catchphrase, “Just the facts Ma’am”………….or was it? The documented transcripts showed that the facts were Joe Friday never really said that but just like the game of telephone tag, over time, that is the story we have told ourselves in our head, that we believed and we thought true.
Our thoughts are just that – stories we choose to tell ourselves. The circumstance behind our thoughts always needs to be a cold hard, provable, found true “in a court of law” FACT.
Those that love mathematics (I do not) would tell you that’s one thing as challenging as it is, that they find magnetic about it ~ all equations are provable. There is no denying 1+1= 2. We can try and think the answer something different, but everyone you ask, hands down, would come to the same answer as being, 2.
Make sure as you sift through your thoughts today, that you clearly separate out the circumstance behind those thoughts (aka, fact) from your story (thought). That inner critic voice of yours will want to tell you that your critical and negative thoughts are the facts. That you should continue to believe your thinking that has become far too familiar to you!
But what if your thoughts aren’t based on facts? What if what you have been spending your time thinking keeps you stuck and spinning round and round, getting the same (negative) results? Are you willing to ask yourself if you are ready to give that thought up?
If your thought is based on a provable fact, ask yourself if you want to keep thinking as you have been. How has that choice in thought served you, in a future-forward way? Has that thought impacted your emotional functioning leading to feelings of anxiety, sadness, depression, keeping you stuck?
As all your results start with your thinking, what you choose to spend time thinking about is what you create.
What do you find yourself spending most of your time thinking about?
By all means, if you want to keep getting the same results that you have been, keep on thinking what you are. BUT, if you want to create a result that targets your greater emotional and mental wellness, how about choosing to think differently and spend time focusing on that thought?
Need help in thinking of a more neutral, self-serving (in a positive way), thought?
I’m here. Schedule a time, no obligation and let’s chat.
Now go out and make it a great day ~
Photo by Roman Mager on Unsplash