Be conscious of your thoughts…I know, weird right? If you’re thinking something, doesn’t that mean you would know you’re thinking it and therefore you woule be conscious of it?
The short answer is No. The average person thinks 70,000 thoughts a day (Yes, I googled and that’s roughly 50 thoughts per minute). How many of those 70,000 thoughts do you remember or are even aware of? Yeah my thoughts exactly – very few.
I went to a kinesiologist once (I love trying all these forms of “alternative” therapies as I find them so intriguing and helpful. Different perspectives and ways of thinking keep our egos in check I believe) and I left with my body saying I needed to be conscious of my thoughts, specifically while getting dressed. Um…Yes okay. Nothing else. Not trying to turn any negativity into positivity; no affirming anything. Just: Be conscious of your thoughts.
Yes, alright. So I tried it the next morning while I was getting dressed. And the morning after that. The first thing I noticed was just how much thinking about my day ahead of me made me irritable and how that affected me for the rest of the day – I’d be drained before I even made it to work.
The second thing I noticed was (as calm and positive as I enjoy being) how many negative thoughts I think. And not dreadfully negative but simply negative. By this, I mean whatever has a negative effect on me. For example, this robot is taking so freaking long to turn green or why does this person have to be talking so loud right now. And the major issue with this kind of thinking is that it spirals. It starts off like this and then just gets bigger and more negative…until that’s all you know (and are kind of addicted to). No wonder some people walk around looking like they have clouds over their heads. If we’re not conscious of our thinking, then obviously we wouldn’t be conscious of the effect it has on us – how we carry ourselves; our moods, our bodies or even just how others experience us.
What I took away from this experience was how tiring my type of thinking made me; and the effect it had on my body and my mood.
Try it. I dare you. Try being conscious of your thoughts. Pick a specific time of day (like when you driving or dressing or eating); something you do daily and be conscious of what you’re thinking. And then ask yourself, “Is this having a positive or negative effect on me?” And then do this daily. Don’t try change it just yet. That will happen naturally.
Who would have thought that your thoughts could have such a profound effect!