“Your belief determines your action, and your action determines your results. But first you have to believe.”
~Mark Victor Hansen
Sometimes it’s hard to just put one foot in front of the other if we’re not really sure what our destination is. Science is edging closer and closer to proving that our thoughts have physical manifestation within the body. Already we know that chronic stress literally frays nerve endings, weakening connections that are vital to memory, our immune systems and our emotional well-being. The popularity of such movies as “What the Bleep do we Know?” and “The Secret” suggest that we don’t necessarily need to understand advanced biochemistry to embrace the idea that what we think has a direct impact on how we experience life.
This may seem like a new age concept, but it is one that appears throughout history in many forms, in a multitude of cultures. In the field of psychology, two men, Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck, independently came up with similar versions of what is now called CBT, or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Forty years later, CBT is still considered a best practice therapy for depression and anxiety. Cognitive therapy, at its heart, is simply becoming aware of the thoughts that are constantly providing mental commentary to our lives.
Athletes and coaches have known this for a long time. Imagine two ball players up to bat. The first batter is thinking “Oh no, this is the pitcher that struck me out the last time. If I don’t get on base this time I’m letting my team down. Who am I kidding? They made a mistake letting me on this team in the first place…” The second batter picks up the bat, checks his stance, and waits. Maybe he is thinking “eye on the ball” or “follow through” or maybe he is simply present and waiting, trusting without really thinking, that he can handle whatever is pitched his way. These two batters may be identical twins, but if we could take a brain scan of each of them at the moment before the swing of the bat, the pictures would be like comparing a peaceful Monet water color to a Picasso self portrait.
Many people throughout history have taught about the power of the mind and focused attention. The Buddhist teaching of mindfulness includes allowing thoughts to arise and pass without latching onto them, like clouds in the sky, or a train passing by. Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” Plato said, “Thinking is the talking of the soul with itself.” If we are consumed with negative thoughts we might ask ourselves “Is this a conversation I would have with someone I really care about?”
Even though I’ve studied these ideas and try to practice them all the time, more often than I’d like to admit, I’ll notice that rather than let the train of my thoughts pass by, I’ve leapt aboard and am now in the next county traveling steadily in the opposite direction of my dreams. At times like this I might then proceed to mentally beat myself up for allowing myself to get so off track, which is a lot like trying to repair a flat tire by beating on it with a sharp object. No matter how new or experienced we are at noticing our thoughts and choosing to affirm ourselves, we are all going to go for the occasional train trip through the country. Just like batter number one, who probably struck out, or tripped over his shoelaces on the way to first, we’ll usually get another chance. We can laugh, take a deep breath, and show up to try again, or we can take the longest most difficult route home to punish ourselves, and still we’ll have the same opportunity – to try again.
It can be a long, slow process, but if we are patient with ourselves, we can begin first to become aware of our thoughts, and then, gently, to challenge them. We may discover we know more than we gave ourselves credit for. All of us have an inner voice of wisdom; it’s just a matter of learning to listen for it. If it’s “the secret” then it’s only because we didn’t let ourselves in on it in the first place. © 2007, Linda Firth
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