Mindset Monday // Thoughts Are Things

It is a simple truth that the things that we tell ourselves, secretly, in the hidden corners of our psyche are the things that come to be real in our lives.

Let's start with what's easy to accept: that negative thoughts cause stress, anxiety, and depression. All three physical states that negative thoughts put us in can lead to clouded decision making and a compromised mindset when dealing with external factors, especially other people. When you're irritable, it's easy to lash out and hurt people around you that you would never intend to hurt. So, the hidden internal negativity you allow to persist inside of you does, in fact, become a real tangible thing that affects your actions and people around you. Not so hidden anymore, eh?

OK so this is definitely not a newsflash. No one has been left out in the cold on this revelation.

If it is so obvious to us how the transfer of negative energy can come from within you into the universe around you, why is it so hard for us to accept that the same happens with positive energy?

That, in thinking that this great thing that could happen, if we allow ourselves to believe that it actually will?

Well, there are all the satirical takes on this mindset that make us feel ashamed of believing such a silly thing. Like, the many comedians, sarcastic quotes, and contradictory testimonials that make us feel insecure about our positivity. Statements, even ones I myself have been accused of thinking and saying, such as people who want to sit and pray that their dreams will come true are never going to get there without actions to back them up, sabotage our belief that having hopes and dreams are all in vein. I get it, obviously. Even when I just wrote that, I was like... yeah, I mean that's absolutely true.

And it is true that we can't just sit around and dream big and hope for great things and think positive thoughts. That can't be it. But we have to have the belief that great things can happen and to have positive thoughts to spur on action. All that sarcasm that makes us feel insecure about hoping for something, turns our potential for dreaming big and being positive about a future outcome into an anti-vulnerability campaign that limits our beliefs about ourselves. And then... the negativity sets in.

The positive thought mindset for some may only be the remedy for the negative thought mindset - a way to cancel it out so that we can be in our real authentic place. The positive thought mindset might be more than just a countermeasure, though. They could be the motivation and momentum necessary to take steps towards the outcomes we want. They could be the catalyst to positive decisions and actions that proliferate positive energy in others, who support us and our goals, and even help us achieve them.

So, can we not get hung up on being vulnerable? Allowing yourself to believe good things is not setting yourself up for disappointment. Here's the new newsflash... preparing yourself for doom does not make handling difficult situations any easier. Expecting the best does not inhibit your ability to cope with the worst.

Your thoughts are things. The ability for our negative thoughts to become negative outcomes is 100% as valid a mindset as the ability for our positive thoughts to become positive outcomes. Your thoughts are the most important things.

#Mindset