Our thoughts are incredibly important to who we are. Our thought patterns influence our emotions and our perception of the world. They impact our actions the level of success that we achieve.
When you are able to identify any thought patterns that are not helping you and could, in fact, be hurting you, you are able to change them. This will give you a new way to see yourself and the world around you.
Your thought patterns influence multiple aspects of your life:
- Assumptions. The old adage of “When you assume, you make an “ass” out of “you” and “me” seems particularly apt. Often we jump to inaccurate conclusions based on personal bias or limited information. To make good decisions make sure that you have good information that is not influenced by your assumptions. So make sure that you have the facts before judging a situation or a person. Allow yourself the opportunity to be right.
- The past is not the future. If you have had success or failure in the past, it is necessary to recognize that it has no bearing own what you can accomplish in the future. One failure isn’t enough to prove anything. Thomas Edison found many ways not to make a battery before he found one that worked. If he had applied his past to his future, he would have given up long before he found the right combination.
Walter S. Mallory: ‘Isn’t it a shame that with the tremendous amount of work you have done you haven’t been able to get any results?’
Edison replied: ‘Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results! I know several thousand things that won’t work.’
- If you lack certain skills, you can always learn them. Remember that we have already learned so many things through our life including how to walk or text (I highly recommend not doing those things at the same time!). You can learn to be a great public speaker, salesperson, or conversationalist.
- Being overly positive or negative. Strive to be accurate in your perceptions. When things are going well, you may focus on positive things. When things are going badly, on the other hand, you may be more focused on the negatives in a situation.
- Consider just how much relevance you are applying to things. Do you focus too much on your failures? Maybe you brush off or don’t think your successes are all that relevant? Make sure that you have a balanced view. Give yourself the credit you deserve while keeping it real.
- Taking things personally. People do and say things for many reasons. Often it is their own “stuff” and has nothing to do with you. We are inherently selfish in that we are constantly thinking about ourselves, what we did, will do, are doing and how we are being perceived by others in the moment. Now we do think of others but this usually happens when we are in a good place emotionally. Do you really care if you are blunt with someone when you are dealing with a stomach flu? Not so much.
- Living in the past. You can learn from the past. What you did that elevated you or brought you down. Unfortunately, most people don’t learn, they don’t use mistakes and failure as a way to learn and grow. Instead, they relive missed opportunities and mistakes and stay stuck and unhappy with regrets. Choose to let go of the past so that you can live in the present and enjoy your future.
- Future orientation. While having goals and plans is fantastic, too much of a future orientation can be a source of anxiety. Live in the present moment and enjoy each moment you have. Stay focused on today. Today is the only time you can change your life. Allow the future to arrive. It will come soon enough.
- When you put things off you make the situation more stressful because now you HAVE to get whatever it is done, regardless of what else you need to be doing. When you are forced to deal with things, they are less convenient, and more likely done in a hurry.
If you possess any of the above thought patterns, do you have the motivation to change them? It is up to you to change yourself. No one can do it for you. The first step is to notice what you are doing so that you can catch yourself whenever these though patterns emerge. Next, you want to replace these negatives with thought patterns that actually serve you.