The problem with thinking...

Feelings flow from our thinking.
Our thoughts create and tap into stories that our imaginations run with.  

"Our sales are down today…" - may be factual - but the next part is what happens when we connect a story to that…

"I'm failing" or "our marketing is failing."

This is an example of a thought that connects to a story (a negative one) about the future. And perhaps a conclusion - our company is going to fail. We’ll end up working in McDonalds for the rest of our lives. 

The next day - we could have a great sales call - "our strategy is working" - "we're going to make it!"

Thinking -> Narratives -> Feelings

One of the things I've been working on over the past few years is the ability to notice rather than judge.

Noticing feelings or emotions rather than believing them has opened a new world to me. 

So if feelings come from our thinking and the stories that we build from them - what can we do? 

Can we simply just change our thinking? Not when we’re convinced they are the truth. 

A lot of the work of therapy seems to be helping people correct perceptions, stories, beliefs that have been holding them back.
Stories that can be interpreted in other ways from another perspective. 

One of the most influential thinkers I've come across on this is Byron Katie. Her framework called "the work" is based on 4 questions that have helped me:

1. Is this belief/statement/memory true?
2. Can I absolutely know that it is true?
3. How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought?
4. Who or what would you be without the thought?

Even just the concept of recognising that a thought doesn't have to be believed. We already know our brains are wired to look for supporting evidence for things we believe to be true. So what about looking for the reverse evidence?

If we're willing to acknowledge our thoughts might be wrong - and the complete opposite could be true - we either didn't have the full picture, or perspective, or all the facts.

We can choose a different thought, or a different interpretation of the meaning we've given it.

The root of the problem of negative feelings is the meaning we've made of it.

We experience the thinking that we accept to be true.

Our thinking and imagination can take us to a place of disaster or joy.
Athletes know this and rehearse the win mentally before they compete.

Where is your thinking holding you back?