Some Thoughts About Thinking
(5 minute read; 940 words)
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, every single day; they think, they say, they do, and they be. Think, say, do, be. This is how life works.
What you choose to think, say, and do determines who you will “be.“
Simply put: Your thoughts (and attitudes) produce your actions and reactions (behavior), which in turn reveal your character and your identity — who you be(come).
The Rule: Everything begins with the way you “choose” to think.
It’s the one thing in life that you have absolute control over.
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… or what you say and do, how you “react” in response to some situation or circumstance that occurs.
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?”
Some studies suggest that the average person has thousands of thoughts running through their heads every single day—but always just one thought at a time.
Thoughts are cognitive, active, and ongoing. They never stop and hardly slow down. In fact, thinking is the full-time work of your conscious mind.
A conscious thought may be one you intentionally create or one that seems to just pop into your mind at random and the conscious mind can only handle one thought at a time and it has no memory.
It takes a thought and a conscious 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) which is your behavior.
But sometimes, an ingrained habit of thought, called an attitude, takes over and short-circuits the disciplined process of thinking, acting and reacting. That’s when you automatically fire off actions and reactions, some good and some bad— what you should say and do and what you shouldn’t say or do. And with attitudes, this happens automatically, without a conscious thought.
That’s why your thoughts are the gatekeeper of your behavior. And it’s also why you must be very careful that only the “right” ways of thinking become habitual and ingrained in your heart as attitudes.
“Guard your heart, because everything your say and do flows from it.” (adapted from Proverbs 4:23)
There are only two things you can do with a thought:
- You can act on it — say it, do it. 2. You can dismiss it — don’t say it, don’t do it; dismiss the thought before you act on it and move on to the next one.
Your thoughts serve many purposes in the human mind. They are used to:
- Recognize — Thoughts that ask, “What is that? Who is that?”
- Remember — Thoughts that bring an image or idea from the past back into the mind.
- Reason — Thoughts that apply logic, such as, “If this, then that.”
- Imagine — Thoughts that form a mental picture of something not yet seen.
- Emote — Thoughts that create emotions (e-motions; energy in motion; motivation; the driving force for behavior).
- Decide — 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: acting or reacting, behaving or misbehaving, righteous or unrighteous acts.
Be careful which thoughts you allow to become ingrained in your heart as attitudes. Once established, they become firmly rooted and very difficult to change.
Attitudes trigger both good and bad behaviors “automatically, on cue—for all to hear and see”— and without even a conscious thought. More on attitudes later in Rule #5.
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).
—Marcus Aurelius (emphasis added)
“Whether you think you can or think you can’t… you’re right.” (you either can or your 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 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.”
—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 begins with the way you “choose” to think.
theattituderules.com 