It’s time to put our thinking under the magnifying glass. Why? Everything is affected by our thinking. If our thinking is in confusion or negative how can we have peace of mind? So, how aware are you of your thoughts, your tone of thinking and what influences your thinking tone?
Here are some questions to get started with.
1. What is your mind’s main fuel source?
Our minds need to get fuel from somewhere or what are they going to think about? A good indication is: What do you spend most of your time thinking about? Others, situations, the news, planning events, the latest trend or film or TV show…? How about inspiring books or stories or events? It is the mind’s job to think, are you feeding it junk food or quality food?
2. What is the prevailing tone of your thinking?
There are 4 main tones: positive, negative, ordinary and wasteful. A positive tone is created when we foster thoughts filled with compassion, appreciation, understanding, laughter and peace. A negative tone is created when our mind gets caught in for example, angry or jealous thoughts. An ordinary tone is a day-to-day one, at times it can seem like we are just going through the motions. A wasteful tone is one filled with worry and anxiety, it is this type of thinking in particular, that drains our energy.
3. What is the intelligence of your thinking?
We aren’t talking about IQ here, rather how intelligent our thinking is in terms of our understanding of our self, others and the world. In other words, how discerning is my thinking? Do I recognise how what I am thinking affects my mood? Do I see the bigger picture? Do I see how things interact together? Do I recognise my value and other’s value?
4. What is the perspective of your thinking?
This one is all about how many angles we can see something from. Are you aware of the lens you are looking through and how it influences how you interpret what you see? There are many lenses or perspectives, for example: am I thinking like a man or woman? Am I wearing the glasses of my nationality, culture or profession. How about the lens of being the driver, cyclist or pedestrian?
5. Who directs your thinking?
You? The more aware we become of our thinking, the more we can begin to choose what we want to feed our mind. The more we can become the directors of our own thinking, the more we can bring it in-line with how we want to feel and what we want to achieve. We can move out of being victims of the storms of our mind into working with our minds to consciously create inner peace and contentment. The choice is ours.
What are you thinking about right now?
