#200: Changing the way I think
Earlier this year I decided to fundamentally change the way I think.
I began with a daily ritual of journaling, doodling, reading poetry and listening to a podcast with some sort of wise teacher.
I found an interview with the late John O'Donuhue on On Being podcast with Krista Tippet and found myself lost in his magical Irish tones.
On the podcast he talked about changing the way one thinks.
“It seems to me that the most obvious way to change yourself is to change the way you think” (Think spoken as ‘tink’, which makes it all the better)
He spoke about changing your fundamental thoughts by writing down or reflecting on the thoughts that shape you and thoughts that you’ve never had. What about fundamental thoughts that are completely new? How would it be to think in a completely new way? This excited me.
I believed that I had some fundamental pillars of thought that were shaping the lens in which I saw the world and if I changed the fundamental pillars of thought then I may see the world differently.
It’s not that how I’d been seeing the world was bad necessarily, there were good parts and bad parts, I’ve certainly had a great time over the last 10 years. Yet I fancied a change and was wondering, what would it be like if I could change the way I think?
I started with my fundamental thoughts. Writing these down was quite confronting. Here is what they were.
The world is broken and I must fix it
I do not have enough
Anything is possible and I can do anything
I am capable of anything (similar to above)
I am not in the right place and must change something now
If I do something wrong, people will not like me and that will be bad
More money will make me happy
Broadly I think these fundamentals capture how I had seen myself in the world. Some are intense, some I believe are dangerous, some have led me to do things I’m really proud of. I wrote them down and recount them now with no judgement, just ease, this is how I have seen the world.
I then reflected on a similar number of thoughts that I’ve never actively had in my consciousness. I made up some new fundamentals and wondered and am still wondering, what it’s like to live from this place.?
I have everything I need (What a relief)
I am where I’m meant to be (also a relief)
The world is beautiful (yes it really is, and that doesn’t mean I won’t try and fix things)
I am safe (I always have been, but never really told myself this)
I am loved (I always have been but probably focused on the critics etc)
I am free (still struggling with this one, but I am)
I am a tree (not really sure, but I thought how great to live life like a tree?)
I would love to say that I have fully evolved into this new thought pattern and mind-state. I have not. I still ramble down the road thinking; 'more money will make me happy', or worrying that I have done something wrong and someone won’t like me as a result.
Yet I do sometimes feel my feet on the floor and think “I am tree” or look at a tree and think “hello sister” that’s quite new.
I do also see what I have more than I used to. That I do truly have what I need and that where I am right now is where I am meant to be. 1) & 2) in particular, I believe, have helped me cultivate more acceptance and helped me stop resisting my life-situations as much.
What will I create from this new set of thoughts? Who will I become? Where will I live? What’s enough?
I see this exercise like changing the soil or repotting a plant. I’ve added in some new nutrients, a new container and I hope new seeds will spout.
I don’t do it so much now, but for a while, at some point every day I would say aloud these new thoughts in my head, or write them down, and I’d always forget at least one. The one I remembered usually brought a smile of relief to my face.
I really do have everything I need.
It’s a fun exercise and if you’re into self-reflection or journalling I’d recommend it. I certainly felt a feeling of control and agency around my own process of taking in the world. I felt empowered.
This newsletter is not good enough, it is broken and I must fix it and if I do not people will not like me.
Oh wait… no no, I am free, I'm where I'm meant to be.
Cheers,
James x
Did this resonate? Share it with someone else by sending them this link 👇🏼
>> https://mailchi.mp/jamesroutledge/changingthewayithink <<
Writing
TIP JAR
I don't charge for the newsletter and I'll never advertise.
If you'd like to tip me for my writing, here's the Tip Jar
Money isn't the only way to tip. A response, comment or 'thanks' are warmly welcomed (and often more appreciated)
Who am I?
Writer, founder, husband, always tanned.
Wannabe poet, imposter, taboo buster.
Thinker, philosopher, not a drinker
Joker, chancer, bad dancer.
shoulder chipped Stokie
champagne hippie
Asks questions,
the big ones
best ones.
Always
asking
Who
am
I?