You Are What You Think
I’ve been thinking recently about how we process our thoughts, competing ideas, and ultimately the choices we make.
Part of this includes wondering if our default is to respond and react while not allowing the benefit for reflection to be an aspect of the process. For instance, have you ever thought, “I want a beer.” And when someone asks, why did you drink a beer, you say, “Because I felt like it.” If that way of thinking and behaving becomes our default, weightier and more important decisions are made in the same manner. For instance, have you ever thought, “My leader needs to hear how I feel about how they are leading our team.” And when someone asks, why did you share your thinking, you say, “Because l felt like it.” What’s missing in these scenarios, are the questions:
Why am I having that thought?
Are there other options to consider?
What are the ramifications and or the consequences to the thought and action?
How is that a reflection of my authentic self?
Without an adequate exploration of the thought, idea, or action, we miss the benefit of reflection. All day long, we think, we have ideas, and we make decisions. I wonder if the autopilot of our lives keeps us from approaching how we think and act from a deeper place that might actually be who we are. Perhaps people make the choices they do because that’s all they are used to rather than choosing what is really best for them. So, I’m thinking we equate our thoughts to our identity not our identity to our thinking.
Truth is, we have multiple thoughts, competing ideas, and choices every moment of every day. When we stop long enough to become mindful, to learn and reflect on why we’re thinking what we’re thinking, and why we have the ideas we have, and why we choose what we do, we are far more likely to be the curator of quality thinking and of ideas. As a result, effective decisions that reflect who we are and what we value and ultimately the goals we want to pursue become clearer. We live then with greater clarity and with greater clarity of purpose.
When we pause and give ourselves the gift of reflection something deeper, richer and more satisfying, can happen. Transaction becomes transformation. We change. With change, our whole life’s direction can change, beginning with the way we think, the ideas we generate, and how we interact with others and the world around us. This identity can alter and give us life-changing perspective.