The other day I had an unhelpful thought run through my mind. It was what Jon Acuff calls an old soundtrack. I wanted it gone… like, yesterday.
It reminded me of an old TV show called Clean Sweep. Each week, a team of people would come into someone’s house to help declutter and organize. Everything in the home would be brought into the yard to be sorted. Choices had to be made: not everything was allowed back in. Contestants had three sections to place their belongings: keep, toss, and sell. To help make decisions, they were asked to envision how they wanted the space to look going forward.
I thought how nice it would be to pour out and sort my thoughts that way… but I’d hate for the neighbors to see all my thoughts!
Here is the wonderful thing about my thoughts — I do get to choose them! I can absolutely sort them and make decisions. The ones that do not serve me well can be replaced with ones that do. Choosing my thoughts is a small but powerful step toward the life I want to cultivate
The tricky part is catching them. Some thoughts have been around so long they slip by unnoticed. Ironically, I have to spend time thinking about what I think… not all thoughts are true. Trying not to think a thought? Counterproductive. The real transformation is in replacing the thought. The old thought can even become a trigger for the new one-pointing me from what doesn’t serve me toward a thought that does.
As Proverbs reminds me: as we think in our hearts, so we are. Choosing my thoughts shapes my habits, my actions, and ultimately the life I live.
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