Yes, thoughts are things. And, each act of human creativity, every invention; indeed, all progress is preceded by thought.
Thought, combined with correct action and fortified by burning desire, belief, determination, and dogged persistence is almost unstoppable.
However, on another level, in this case an emotional level, let’s look at three different types of thoughts and how they serve or do not serve us.
Productive Thoughts: These make you feel good; they are empowering. Thoughts with positive, uplifting feelings put you in a good place for personal productivity, accomplishment, and overall happiness. While these good thoughts can simply happen on their own, by and large they are the result of choice and conscious awareness (and, in my case, a yellow sticky note on my computer that says, “FEEL GOOD!”)
Productive thoughts are also seeing the good side of something rather than the bad (congruent with reality) such as judging someone favorably when you don’t know their intent. And, very importantly, feeling gratitude for the many blessings in your life, big and small.
Neutral Thoughts: These bring forth neither good feelings nor bad. They’re not negative and they’re not positive. It’s not so much that they are realistic as much as they are without conscious thought.
Counterproductive Thoughts: Anger, resentment, ingratitude, grudges, etc., can absolutely eat away at a person. They result in bad feelings and, unchecked, can only undermine happiness. As one who for many years lived like that it’s still very easy for me to allow myself to fall into the trap. When this happens, I am now able to catch myself quickly (usually) and consciously interrupt the pattern.
These negative thoughts and feelings are fed through actions such as gossip, complaining, judging others unfavorably, victim-hood, accumulating debt and more. They also go hand-in-hand with poor self-esteem.
Every morning I read the brief email from Abraham-Hicks. Nearly 100 percent of the time, the message has to do with allowing yourself to feel good; consciously deciding to feel good. I read it so that I remember it. Without these reminders I find it too easy to forget; yes, despite the above-mentioned sticky note.
So, in the continuum of thought, from helpful to harmful, where do you usually stand?
How do you keep up the productive thoughts and good feelings? Any suggestions?
This article was originally published by Bob Burg
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