| Choose the best thought | 2002-02-12 17:36 8 comments |
 by Flemming FunchThere's a very simple technique that I have found to be very helpful in changing one's outlook for the better, particularly in times where things seem gloomy. The principle is simply: - - Always choose the best thought that is available at the moment - - No matter what situation you're in, there are always multiple choices available as to how you might think about it right now. And amongst those choices, even if they're all relatively gloomy, there will be a best (most positive, most constructive) thought. Choose that one. And the magical thing is that in most situations you'll pretty quickly have taken yourself out of any slump you might be in. The point is to deal with what is there right now, and not shoot for anything impossible. Just choose the most promising avenue from what happens to be available. And soon enough the avenues get better and better. So, if your checking account is overdrawn, and your car has a flat tire and now it starts raining ... maybe it would be unrealistic to think that life is wonderful and everything is perfect. And it might be unrealistic to think that everything is just going better and better. But, at least, rather than thinking that your life is going to hell and you're doomed, you can maybe think that at least the plants will get some water from the rain. A little later you might then be able to notice that you still have a membership to the auto club, and they'll come and fix your tire. And you might be able to think that "Hey, it could be worse". And you might think about the enjoyable things you'll do once you get home and get dry. A cup of hot chocolate and reading a good book. And before long the world looks quite a bit better than it would have looked if you had spent the time thinking about how bad and impossible everything was. This is not reserved to times when one is feeling bad, of course. It is just a principle of choosing one's thoughts, and choosing the one's one prefers, rather than one's one doesn't really like. So, if you're feeling pretty good and confortable, you might as well pick some really exciting thought as the thought of some boring things you have to do. And with "thought" I don't just mean some intellectual, mental analysis or something. There's likely to be feelings that go along with the thoughts, and that is the whole point. If you pick thoughts of worsening or of pain and stuckness, you naturally feel bad. You pick thoughts that lead towards improvement, and you feel better. And the point is not either to ignore what is currently going on. On the contrary. The point is to concentrate on what choices are available right now, and to choose the most constructive one, rather than lamenting the past or the future or some abstract picture of what is going on. I heard about this little principle from Dwight Stone and I believe it is from the Abraham teachings. |