Tag Archive for: thoughts

We Are Our Thoughts

Our thoughts are incredibly powerful.
They affect us in many ways – our mood, our behaviours and our outlook on life.
I’ve always loved the scripture in Proverbs 23:7, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…”
Recently I have been paying much more attention to the things I am thinking every day.
I consider whether my thoughts are positive, negative or even neutral.
…Apply the proverb to real life…
If my thoughts are filled with positivity, then so I will be.
…with negativity, then so I will be.
We literally become our thoughts.
We 𝒂𝒓𝒆 our thoughts.
In short – I am learning again that the quality of my thoughts has a direct impact on the quality of my life.
I love this quote by Dr. Wayne Dyer: “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change”
Subsequently, if you want to have a more meaningful and purposeful life, then begin to pay more attention to the things you think about every day.
Start by considering the things you tell yourself every day.
For example, are you struggling with someone?
A spouse, partner, a sibling, parents, a friend, or a workmate perhaps?
Pause for a moment and stop yourself.
Watch your thoughts…
Do you see what is happening in that moment?
What do you think about in your heart, when you think of them?
What do you notice?
Are your thoughts negative or positive?
If its negative, challenge yourself, and your thinking.
For me those challenges start early in the morning, when I make plans for the day ahead.
Start by engaging new positive thoughts and watch them start to grow day by day.
See how it feels.
I am relearning that when we change your thoughts, you can change your life, one thought at a time.
What would happen if you took just one thought today and intentionally shifted it from negative to positive?

Guarding Against Silent Judgment

Five years ago, I wrote about the dangers of pointing out faults in others. See https://www.darylwatson.org/…/the-dangers-of-pointing…/
Reflecting upon that blogpost, one thought comes to mind as I try to do better, is this… “I choose not to let passing judgment become a silent habit that I don’t know is happening.”
It’s easy to slip into judgmental thinking without even realising it, by quietly critiquing others’ choices, behaviours, or appearance in our minds.
Just the other day, I caught myself doing that very thing.
When unchecked, this internal habit can become a barrier to compassion, humility, and true meekness.
Passing judgment often starts as a whisper in our thoughts.
It might seem insignificant, a fleeting observation of someone else’s shortcomings or differences.
However, these seemingly small judgments, left unaddressed, can build up over time, shaping how we view and interact with others.
Worse, they can become so ingrained that we may not even recognise when we’re doing it.
Our perceptions of others become clouded by preconceived ideas, biases and crazy notions, which can erode our ability to extend love and understanding.
To counter this, it’s vital to actively constantly cultivate self-awareness.
Just as we try to monitor our words and actions, we must also be mindful of our thoughts.
A helpful practice is to pause when a critical thought arises.
Ask yourself: “Why am I thinking this? Is it rooted in compassion, or is it a reflexive judgment?”
By catching these thoughts in the moment, we can prevent them from taking root and influencing our attitudes.
More importantly, we need to replace judgment with empathy.
We are each on a unique journey in life, filled with struggles, difficulties, and stories we may never fully understand.
I believe when we shift our focus from judgment to empathy, we can begin to respond with kindness and support, rather than criticism.
We can remind ourselves that, just as we desire grace for our own imperfections, others deserve the same grace.
I am more committed than ever to avoiding the silent habit of judgment.
It requires constant vigilance, self-reflection, and intentionality.
By staying mindful of my thoughts and striving to replace judgment with empathy, I hope to become more mindful of my interactions, seeing the best in others and focusing on love rather than faults.
How can you prevent judgmental thoughts entering your mind?

Elevate Your Thoughts

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝.
All that we achieve and all that we fail to achieve is a direct result of our 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬.

Eagles and Crows.

Consider this short story by Vernon Howard, about a community of eagles that lived on a beautiful mountain range.
“The eagles were happy and found an abundance of food in surrounding woods and streams. Their days were spent in lofty soaring in the beautiful blue sky, high above the world. But down on the dry prairie, there dwelt a band of devious crows. The crows had access to a low grade of corn in glittering packages. They looked for unsuspecting travellers who they could get to eat the corn.
Now the eagles were smart enough, but careless at times. Though they were cautious at first, the corn looked pretty good. Besides, it saved the effort of hunting. So, the eagles soared less and less and began dropping down to the crows’ cornfields more and more. Of course, the less they flew, the less they felt like flying. Growing weak in their wings, they began to believe that they were meant to be down on the ground with the crows.
But there was one eagle who sensed that something was not right. Besides, the corn didn’t really taste as good as the crows said it would. When he tried to persuade his eagle friends to return to the mountains, the crows ridiculed him. Believing the crows, the eagles shunned their former friend.
Growing tired of it all, the lone eagle studied himself carefully. He tried his wings, and something deep inside told him he belonged in a higher place. So off he flew, back to the mountains. Then from dawn to dusk, he soared over his beautiful world, free to be what he was always meant to be – an eagle.”

Your Thoughts

In our personal life, we can all be affected by many blinding influences.
If we are not careful, we can be deceived by false beliefs and teachings spread by millions of “devious crows.”
They are able to convince many to take the “easy street”.
But all of us are really 𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬.
We are all meant to soar!
There are a few ways to think about “crows” around us, including negative thoughts, that can be random, unpleasant, agitating and anxiety filled mental impulses.
Despite these thoughts, each of us can overcome them and become a powerful influence for good.
𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆.
My invitation to everyone today through this timeless fable, is to elevate your thoughts, don’t get stuck in the mud, you are meant to soar above this world!
“For as [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he.” – Proverbs 23:7
Now – off you go…. Take Flight!

As a Man Thinketh

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭?
“For as [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he” – Proverbs 23:7
The vast majority of Proverbs were written by King Solomon.
You will recall that he was regarded as one of the wisest men who ever lived.
Each concise proverb is designed to give us a deeper perspective on life, living, and in turn, hopefully better decision making!

My question then is…

“Is this statement actually really true?”
Consciously or subconsciously our minds are always in motion.
“Your thoughts are the architects of your destiny” said David O. McKay.
The ability to learn, to think, to choose, and to reason, all define us as human beings.
I believe that our innate ability to think, goes much, much deeper.
Essentially, our thoughts become a reflection of who we really are.
Daily, we can choose to fill our minds with whatever we want.
And there is so much choice!
Good, Bad, Beautiful, Ugly, Happy, Sad, Clean, Unclean, Cheerful, Dreary, Hope, Despair…..
Whatever we choose to let into our minds will in turn, generally become the pattern of what will then transpire in our lives.
Who we are, and where we are, in life is principally the result of our own actions and choices, all of which begin in our minds as thoughts and desires.
If you think it long enough, you are very likely to do it.
Daily we choose.
Daily we act.
It is in our minds that our futures are made.
We are responsible for the thoughts we think and the purposes we pursue.
You are the master of them.
Controlling our thoughts helps us to conquer ourselves.
“What we see triggers what we think, what we think influences what we desire, what we desire affects our actions, our combined actions determine our character, and our character determines our eternal destiny.” – Dallin H. Oaks
Is your mind a happy place to be?

Words Matter

Do you listen to your heart?

Words matter.

All week long one word has played continually into my thoughts.

I’ve felt as if it has been etched not only upon, but also into my heart and mind.

No matter where I went, or what I did, it would always return.

It’s an unusual word.

Indefatigability…! (Dutch – onvermoeibaarheid)

I wasn’t even too certain what it meant, so I looked up the dictionary definition.

“Tireless determination, incapable of being tired out; not yielding to fatigue; untiring.”

I reflected upon the definition for a while.

I questioned myself and asked “What does this word mean for me?”

After a while, I began to understand.

Day in, day out, week in, week out, I am surrounded by young missionaries who possess the most remarkable indefatigable spirit.

I am with them, constantly.

Being with them one by one, in group training sessions and large conferences, I am reminded of the desire of their hearts to share their witness and testimony of Jesus Christ.

They all take several knocks – daily.

GRIT

Yet, each of them possesses grit!

True grit!  And I’m not talking about John Wayne!

A toughness, an indefatigable resilient courage, to bounce back, again and again and again.

As defined by Angela Duckworth, grit is “Our passion and perseverance to reach long term goals.”

I am so grateful for my association with each and every one of them.

They have been called from many different countries and cultures all across the world to bring a message of hope and peace to a world that is in constant peril and commotion. (2 Timothy 3:3/D&C 45:26)

Through my personal interactions with each of them, I am a witness to the fact, that they possess an indefatigable zeal and testimony of the message they share.

It is a message of great hope, peace and centred in their love of Jesus Christ.

I know that when the focus of our lives is on Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy, regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in the world or in our lives.

As President Russell M. Nelson has said “the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.”

If you want to find real joy, peace, purpose and meaning in life, then I suggest you listen to your heart.

Reach out to one of these indefatigable young men or young women today. They will help refocus your life.

#HearHim

A little wink

Do they smile back at you?
Last weekend, Monic and I were visiting Brussels.
We had the opportunity to speak in church services on Sunday.
Whilst Monic was speaking, I noticed a little boy, around 6 years old, looking directly at me.
In that split second, I made eye contact with him, tilted my head slightly to one side, smiled, and gave him a friendly little wink.
He smiled back and tried a little wink too.
For a brief moment in time – we enjoyed our little connection and smiled together.
It was an innocent thing.
In that instant, a thought entered my mind when I was his age.
Immediately, in my thoughts, I dismissed my well-rehearsed, prepared talk, already provided to the translators in advance and shortly thereafter apologised to them.
As I stood up, I shared the impressions of my heart and mind.
Slowly, I told my simple story.
Look out for little impressions and ideas, if you are listening, they always come.
The power of a little wink.
Be careful how you use it though, you just never know who may smile back at you!

Think!

Lately, I have reflected on many of the wonderful experiences I’ve had in my life. My journals too have really helped me to recall some great memories.

My invitation today is a simple one.

It is a really valuable exercise every once in a while to close your eyes and think! Whilst doing so, you can reflect upon lots of questions – try this one for starters…

“What is the most wonderful moment I have lived through during the last year?”

It could be a special large event, or a very simple moment or a lovely conversation with a good friend. Big or small, it doesn’t matter. Simply slow down, close your eyes, take a moment, remember that special occasion and let the warm feelings that will come lift your spirits and fill your soul. I know that memories have great power!

Remember – change starts in your thoughts!