Decisions

[Thomas3.20.2010]

Every day we experience 60,0000 thoughts. Some are positive, some neutral observations  and others aren’t helpful at all. They play in the back of our mind virtually all the time because that’s what thoughts do!

But thoughts are not in Command of us! They’re there churning away 24/7. Have you ever had a thought and then immediately rejected it as silly, dangerous, or in some other way not helpful? Of course, you have! We all do!

But there’s another part of our brain – the Executive Control. This area is where we make decisions. The Executive Control receives all the information collected by thoughts and determines what actions will be taken.

All of this goes on without our awareness, of course thousands of times a day. But we can become aware!

We can pay attention to what we’re thinking and learn how to make decisions based not only on thoughts and feelings but upon Values and our vision for ourselves!

Imagine these events as clouds floating across the sky.

Sometimes they may be small and bright

And at other times they may be big and dark.

At times they fly high up into the sky

And at other times they pass very low.

Sometimes there are just a few clouds in the sky

And at other times they almost cover the complete sky.

See if you can follow these sensations from the moment they appear

In the mind until they have passed away.

Now let your attention rest on whatever arises and becomes most predominant in this moment.

It might be your breath, a sound, a thought, a feeling or a physical sensation in the body.

Practicing awareness will give you more conscious control over which thoughts you choose to listen to and which decisions you wish to make right now.

Because you don’t ignore the negative thoughts you aren’t in denial. You simply choose to focus on the positive and make decisions from that information. Thoughts of all kinds still happen but they no longer are compelled to create narratives and feelings which generate actions that aren’t helpful.

Then you have the space to seek out, hook into, and act on positive thoughts, feelings, and goals Positive affirmations really stick rather than staring back at you in a condemning way, “Why don’t you believe me?” Letting go of Addictive Thoughts becomes easier and requires less effort.

Right here, right now you can pay attention to your thoughts and decide what you wish to listen to. It’s like picking up your TV remote and choosing the channel! You decide to watch the helpful BecomeanEX channel instead of the “I’m so deprived!” whiny channel!