June 22

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What are you thinking?

By Mark

June 22, 2011

Michael Jordan, Saturday Night Live, Stuart Smalley, Thinking, Thoughts

Old people can think, too.
Old people can think, too.

I’m thinking I have to get this idea out of my head and into a post. Aaah, the power of the mind … we may never fully understand it’s capabilities. In case you didn’t know, our thoughts originate from our brain. Also, to inspire some confidence, your brain uses the amount of energy contained in two large bananas. There you have it — actual scientific evidence that “going bananas” is a real thing.

Here’s another neat-o fact about your melon from the TimesOnline, “Curiously, even though the brain is very efficient, it’s an energy hog. It is only 3 per cent of the body’s weight, but consumes 1/6 (17 per cent) of the body’s total energy. Most of its energy costs go into maintenance; the added cost of thinking hard is barely noticeable.”

So, you’ve got no excuses. Using your brain is green, and thinking will not destroy the rain forests. I know this is a load off shoulders (PUN ALERT! PUN ALERT!) for many of you and you can now resume using your brain at full capacity.

In actuality, thoughts come easily enough. The challenge is having the right thoughts. Now, I’m not going all mystical pie in the sky here, but bad actions are borne out of bad thoughts. No one walks around indiscriminately punching people in the face with no forethought. (If you do that after deep introspection, I suggest you seek immediate help.) That was a violent example. On the beautiful side of life, no guy brings home a dozen roses to his lady without first having the thought. In both cases a choice was made. We choose to dwell on the ugly or the beautiful.

The longer we think something the more likely we are to say it. Once we’ve said something we begin to believe it’s veracity. I believe in unicorns … that is all. I kid, but how many times do we talk ourselves in or out of believing something or doing something? It always starts with a thought.

We give validity to thoughts when we speak them out. A random thought may barrel through our mind, “I’m good for nothing.” This is the moment of choice. If we latch on to that it will eventually come out in our conversation in some form. And at some point we will actually become somewhat useless. But, if we realize that, “I am good for something,” and then operate with that truth, it will also take shape in our lives.

The Bible talks about the importance of thinking correctly, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” That is a great thinking list to start with. If we can filter our thought process with those criteria, we can avoid a lot of trouble that often comes with bad thinking.

Like the Stuart Smalley video below self talk is often joked about, but truth be told there is real value in thinking and speaking the right way. It will lead to acting in the right way, and that, my friends, will lead to a smile on your face. Score!

About the author

Mark is a marketer and sometimes writer. He's trying to get better at that sometimes thing.

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