Do Not Believe the First Thought You Have

Personal Development, Positive, Thoughts

I was reading an article about how older women are more likely to have negative health effects when exposed to microscopic air particles – pollution.

My first reaction was, “Yes! Thank God I’m not a woman.”

The next thought was, “What about my wife?”

Then – “I don’t want her to die young because the EPA doesn’t have strict enough standards.”

Then – “Men really are stronger than women.”

Then – “Man, I can’t believe I thought that I was stronger than a woman. Women have different types of bodies. They are built differently to bare offspring. What a crappy thing to think. How selfish of a person am I? There are so many levels of strength that it’s not fair to generalize. Women are stronger in different ways. They live longer because they do a better job of socializing and dealing with their emotions.”

Then logical thinking snuck back in and I realized that I don’t have to believe that my first, second, or third thoughts are really who I am or how I feel. It was interesting to see how quickly I retorted my initial thoughts, making sure I protected my beliefs – that women shouldn’t be compared to men because they have their own unique qualities.

Sometimes that first thought is just a way to shock your mind into getting the thinking started, trying to stimulate the body to take action.

Sometimes the first thought is your brain playing a joke on you, trying to make you laugh.

Sometimes the first thought is a message from your body to stay aware of your thoughts.

Sometimes the first thought is how you feel, but not the whole you. Yes, I’m glad I’m not a woman because I wouldn’t be me married to Nikki.

The list can go on and on into infinity because I can dissect a thought in any way that fits my desires. That’s the joy of being human; you can feel that first thought and not let it get you upset, scared, or sad. We all have the capability to make ourselves smarter if we practice listening to our thoughts.

If you think a thought that you don’t like then you can release it; you’re allowed to do anything you want inside your own brain. There is no law that says the first thought is the most important. It’s really up to you to decide what to do with that thought.

You are allowed to read this article and disagree with me. You are allowed to believe that the first thought is the one that means the most. But in my opinion you’ll have a tough life. When that first thought comes, no matter how it makes you feel you have to trust that it’s the best way to look at a situation. I used to believe that the first thought was the most accurate, until I began watching what it did to my body.

By letting the first thought come then looking at it as something separate from yourself, you’ll be able to stay detached. When I heard from a co-worker that a manager in another department thought I was lazy, I was really upset. I went home and thought I was going to be fired. I jumped on the first thought and ran with the fear.

When you don’t jump onto the ride of emotions that the first thought creates, you’ll be able to make better choices. I was worked up and scared that I would lose my job. It was a waste of my energy. I later found out that the manager was jealous of the attention I was receiving from a couple of young women. He was just trying to relieve his frustrations. That will happen in families and jobs. Social situations will always create feelings that people don’t know how to handle.

When you can learn to deal with the first thought by not taking it as solid and true, then you’ll develop your potential to create emotions that enhance your ability to extract joy from any situation. The first thought is only a little pulse of energy that your brain fired off to help you gain perspective. Use that first thought as a stepping stone to seeing the whole picture and you’ll put it to good use instead of letting it cause emotional pain.

Popularity: 97% [?]

Karl @ February 5, 2008