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The Bi-Polarity of Our Thoughts...and what to do about it

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Thoughts range from the sublime to the hideous, from blissful to terrifying.

Thoughts range from tiny and fleeting to all-consuming and ground-breaking.

Thoughts range from inspiring to spirit-crushing.

Thoughts could be placed on a Plus-Minus Scale...the negative thoughts being at one end of the scale and the positive thoughts being at the other end, with neutral/blasé thoughts in the middle.

If we spend the time to place our thoughts on a Plus-Minus Scale then we would see visible proof that thoughts tend to be bi-polar. Many thoughts would be classed as positive or negative and few thoughts would be classed as 'neutral'. That is, we would see the bi-polarity of our thoughts.

Our thoughts tend to flip from positive to negative...with negative thoughts outnumbering the positive thoughts.

Of course, to do this thought-sorting exercise we would have to define positive thoughts, negative thoughts, and neutral/blasé thoughts.

A recommendation for sorting thoughts...

  • positive thoughts align with long-term goals & purpose [accompanied by positive, energizing feelings...for example - 'building' thoughts]
  • negative thoughts no not align with long-term goals & purpose [accompanied by negative, de-energizing feelings...for example - worries]
  • neutral/blasé thoughts...not tested against goals or purpose [accompanied by no clear feelings...for example - daydreams]

The problem with our bi-polarity of thoughts: Left to perform without controls, our minds are free to ride on thought [and emotion] roller-coasters...essentially, without our help our minds multi-task or task-slice their way through an endless stream of thought ups and downs...with the downs outnumbering the ups…chewing up our energy and our attitude.

The solution to reduce our bi-polarity of thoughts: Believe you have the ability to choose your thoughts...then, make a life-long practice of honing that thought-mastery skill.