Some Thoughts About Thinking
(6 minute read)
It is your thoughts that set off the chain of events which make life work:
Thinking → Saying → Doing → Being
These are the functions of every human life. Everybody does it, we all do, every single day; we think, we say, we do, and we be(come).
This is how life works.
Simply put: Your thoughts (and attitudes) produce your actions and reactions (your behavior), which shape and define the content of your character, which reveals your identity — who you be(come), and influences the important roles you play in life and the quality of life you live each day.
Actions are what you choose to say and do and reactions are what you choose to say and do in response to what someone else says or does… and what you say and do— how you “react” in response to situations and circumstances that occur.
In all circumstances, what we say, how we say it, and what we do is either good or bad, but can’t be both at the same time.
Thoughts are the process of thinking. Everybody does it— some better than others. “How should I think? How should I act? How should I react?” This is an ongoing self-decision making process. It is the one thing you have absolute control over.
These are very important questions.
Thoughts are cognitive, active, and ongoing. They never stop and hardly ever slow down. In fact, thinking is the full-time work of your conscious mind.
Some studies suggest that the average person has thousands of thoughts running through their mind every single day.
A conscious thought may be one you intentionally create or one that just seems to pop into your mind at random. The conscious mind can handle only one thought at a time and has no memory.
It takes a conscious thought and decision to produce an action or a reaction—to say or do something—cause and effect; a cause (the thought) and an effect (the action or reaction).
Habits of thoughts and actions repeated frequently enough become ingrained in your heart as “attitudes” which take over and short-circuit your process of thinking and behaving by automatically firing off actions and reactions, both good and bad—without even a conscious thought. Attitudes trigger both good and bad behaviors on auto-pilot. It removes the conscious thought and decision making process.
Be careful which thoughts you allow to become ingrained as attitudes.
“Guard your heart, because everything you (say) and do (automatically) flows from it.” (adapted from Proverbs 4:23; emphasis added)
Thoughts serve many purposes in the human mind. They are used to:
- Recognize — Thinking thoughts that ask, “What is that? Who is that?”
- Remember — Thinking thoughts that bring an image or idea from the past back into the mind.
- Reason — Thinking thoughts that apply logic, such as, “If this, then that.”
- Imagine — Thinking thoughts that form a mental picture of something not yet seen.
- Emote — Thinking thoughts that create emotions (e-motions; energy in motion; motivation; the driving force for behavior).
- Decide — Thinking thoughts that determine how to act or react.
This last function—deciding—is the most critical. It is the final step before actually saying things and doing stuff, whether good or bad. It is the pivot point that shapes all behavior: good or bad, acting or reacting, behaving or misbehaving, righteous or unrighteous actions.
There are only two things you can do with a thought:
- You can act on it — say it, do it, or 2. You can dismiss it — don’t say it, don’t do it; dismiss the thought before you act on it. Once dismissed, that thought is deleted and you can move on to the next one.
How to determine whether you should act on a thought or dismiss it:
Is it something you should say yes to or something you should say no to? Is it good or bad? Right or wrong? Appropriate or inappropriate? Is it a smart thing to do? Will it help or hurt? Is it in your best interests? Are there benefits or consequences? Is it “in-character or out-of-character?” Is it Christlike? Is it pleasing to God? Is it according to God’s Word? Will it bring glory to God?
If the answer is “no” to one, then it is “no” to all. Dismiss it and reset to default.
The one true God has placed an awareness of His moral law in the hearts of all human beings. We each have a conscience that bears witness to good or bad and right or wrong. The conscience will either accuse you or defend your actions.
God is the ultimate standard of what is good and right. His nature never changes, and neither do His moral laws. Without God as the absolute standard of right and wrong, morality would be nothing more than human opinion—what one person thinks is right, another might think is wrong. Right is always right and wrong is always wrong and if you don’t believe that, you’re wrong.
God doesn’t change His standards to fit your opinions and whims. You are accountable to His standards, whether you agree with them or not. God is holy, perfectly righteous and pure, and you are not— and He sets the standards and makes the rules for the world He created.
Notable Thoughts About Thinking
“All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts (and attitudes).”
—James Allen, As a Man Thinketh (emphasis added)
“The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.” (remember, it’s the way you choose to think, so you can be happy if you choose to).
—Marcus Aurelius (emphasis added)
“Whether you think you can or think you can’t… you’re right.” (you either can or you can’t, do or you don’t, will or you won’t).
—Henry Ford (emphasis added)
“He can who thinks he can and he can’t who thinks he can’t. This is an inexorable (impossible to stop), indisputable law.”
—Pablo Picasso
“A man cannot directly choose his circumstances, but he can (always) choose his thoughts and attitudes in all those circumstances, and so indirectly, yet surely, shape his circumstances.” (so whatever happens, you always get to choose the appropriate response).
—James Allen, As a Man Thinketh / RAC
“The greatest discovery is that any human being can completely change his life by simply changing his thoughts, his attitudes and his actions.” (it is thoughts, attitudes and actions that shape and define who we become)
—RAC
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be “ye” transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may approve what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
(Romans 12:2; “ye” from KJV)
Memorize and Use This Rule:
Rule #1 – Everything you say and do begins with the way you choose to think.
Take complete control over the way you choose to think and the actions and reactions they produce.
