I was watching a commercial today and the ad stated that it is estimated we have 3,000 thoughts each day. I don't know how true this is (and I should probably check it out sometime) but anyway, I thought "We have 3,000 opportunities every day to CHANGE OUR THOUGHTS!!!" (if we choose to). THREE THOUSAND TIMES EACH DAY, we have opportunities to change. Wow. Makes me realize how empowered we are. Most of us don't think that way. We don't realize that each thought is negotiable. No thought we have is a given - we don't have to keep thinking it IF WE DON'T WANT TO. How about that for empowerment?
I was also watching Joel Osteen and he was talking about opportunities and that things we often see as annoyances are opportunities for us to grow, if we recognize the opportunity. He used the example of impatience. If someone is impatient, he or she may find themselves often behind slow drivers. They can moan and complain and hurl expletives at the slow driver, or see the situation as an opportunity to work on becoming more patient. It's a choice and it's empowering to recognize that choice.
Now as I am reflecting on the past 24 hours, I am wondering how many of those 3000 automatic thoughts I decided to change in some way to create more internal peace and extend out into the world? If we monitored every thought, that would be a full time job and we wouldn't be able to focus on our lives. But, if we recognized each time we feel uncomfortable, irritated, sad, anxious or afraid, then we could also recognize that we can look at the thought that goes with that uncomfortable feeling and change the thought.
Sometimes I am surprised with some of my automatic thoughts, especially when they are critical of others or myself. I'm usually pretty good at catching myself after the thought and changing it. For example, I may look at someone and think they are arrogant or rude or ugly but then I remind myself that I don't like that thought and can change it. I just say to myself "It's just a thought and I will change it" and then move on to a thought that is more compassionate of myself and others. I don't blame myself that much anymore for HAVING the thought, because it's just a thought and I can change it. I'm in charge of what I choose to think.
Imagine this......what if we all realized that we have 3000 opportunities every day to change our thoughts and then DID, IN FACT, CHANGE the thoughts that we didn't like or want to keep....How amazing that would be....
Here's how I think our days would be soooo different.
All of those "negatives", the people and situations that make us crazy would now be seen as opportunities to grow and change. The slow driver teaches us patience, the political extremism teaches us tolerance, the mean boss teaches us to love and value ourselves more, the freak thunderstorm when we are out on our run or walk teaches us trust, the financial stresses teach us gratitude for what we have. They really all contain GIFTS, opportunities to CHANGE.
3,000 times each day we have active choices and opportunities that most of us don't realize.
3,000 times a day we can embrace the thoughts we want to keep and discard the others.
3,000 times each day we can stop blaming
3,000 times every day we can choose peace
3,000 times a day we can love ourselves and others
3,000 times a day we can practice gratitude
3,000 times each and every day we can choose internal peace
simply by changing our thoughts, one thought at a time....3,000 times a day....
3,000 times each day we are empowered.
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