A thought that rules you

A thought that rules you

 

We don't tend to think about how lucky we are if our thoughts are crowded with worries. Please don't stop reading, seeing this as another boring advice someone across the world gives you while you have many people around you to flood you with advices; this is going to be different. Before I proceed with this article, let me tell you that I am not an expert in subject areas like human psychology or social psychology or on any other related fields. So what I say now are just stuff I think are true and it does not go beyond that.

In this article, I am going to talk about thoughts which rule you through your daily course of life with or without your knowledge. As we cross our adolescence age, we tend to comprehend more information compared to our early life. I believe its because we retain more information and consider more thoughts at the same time. Have you ever realized how you could write down what was dictated without the slightest thought of actually writing it? What I mean is, when we note down something that's being dictated, our hand moves automatically, writing down the words. Have you ever realized how you could walk around without even thinking about walking?

This one answer depicts the solution to all our problems. I don't believe in giving meaningless advices that had been repeated over a million times in different places and different languages. If you had seen my other posts, you would realize that I love solving problems down to its finest detail rather than giving an abstract over view of the solution. The same way I am going to give you a fine detailed solution which states the root cause of all your problems. I believe its true; it doesn't mean that the scientific society must accept it (I have no professional knowledge in psychology). When I talk about a thought that rules you, I mean to say that certain thoughts exist within your head with or without your knowledge, which organizes your behavior at the most fundamental level. Now I guess my example of writing a dictated text in a piece of paper makes sense to you. Yes I believe its the "thought" that listens to the word that's being dictated, find its spelling, recollects how to write it down and finally writes it down without you recognizing all these details. Labeling this attribute as "thought" might not be correct; but in this article, that's how I am going to call it.

Now let me give you another example: "our planet earth is a part of a tiny solar system, among billion others, together which constitutes our galaxy". Did you think about galaxies a second before you read this? probably no, right? You might have had other thoughts in your mind before you read this sentence. And is what I said now new to you? Of course not! But why didn't you have that piece of thought in your mind when you actually knew it? Its because, we don't think about everything we know or have known before (or have forgotten it). Then how did my sentence make you recollect them in not less than a fraction of a second? I am not a scientist dealing with brain, so my answer would be "that's how our brain works!". My explanation is, once we have a thought similar or in someway associated with another thought or a peace of memory in our brain, then that piece of thought gets recollected automatically without us showing any effort. Once the new thought comes to your mind, either you accept it or reject it. when you reject it, then your thread of thoughts on that particular matter is broken. but if you persist thinking about it, newer thoughts associated with the previous thought starts popping up in your head.            

Until now, I guess I had talked about two kinds of thoughts; one that immediately induces an action and the other which just remains passive in our head (without inducing any action directly, unless we respond to it). There are parts of it you can control, and there are parts of it you cannot control. Lets consider the second example first, where you didn't have the slightest idea what a galaxy was the moment before you read about it. Now, being aware of the sentence I had written down above got you reminded about galaxies; do you think its ever possible for you to read that sentence and not be reminded about galaxies. I had used the word galaxy extensively, until now. Could you stop thinking about it the moment I ask you to do so? possibly not! So you need to become aware of what you cannot control, so that you could get yourself to control the parts of your life you can control. Every human on this world has the power to induce change. The most challenging part of it is, each of us have different means by which we can induce a change practically. The first example I had given you makes it clear that you don't consider each detail of the work you do, instead let your brain takeover your actions. So this is again something that your brain does without your knowledge. Can we give other examples similar to this? The example of walking and writing were positive ones, now let me give you a negative example from my life, before I had changed; realizing all this.

Almost every day, I plan a study schedule for the evening; but when I come home, I throw my backpack, and sit before the computer or read my novel. I just tend to think, "let me do it tomorrow. I am a bit too tired today". I keep postponing my work until it accumulates to a big bundle. In the morning, before going to my college, I feel that my mode is opt for studying and nothing in the world can stop me from doing so, when I get back home I find that I was wrong! not for a day or two, but for months! And this thought made me feel more miserable and made me avoid studying even more intensively. I would always have some work to do; but though I could do those works, I won't be able to bring myself to do my college work. Some other time in the same year, I start studying studiously (like a nerd) and score well. Why am I not able to both at the same time? and what's making it impossible for me to switch from one to another? During the time of the year when I do my project work, I don't maintain the continuity of my studies and hence loose my temporary habits (or I forget the "thoughts" that had helped me to keep my studying phase) that aid me in my academical studies.

Reading right before exams seem completely impossible for me. I won't be able to get myself seated before my study table. This is again because of that "thought" or the habit that got erased once I had reduced paying heed to my academical studies. These "thoughts" are usually impossible to appose and change in a short period of time. For stuffs that are good, then these thoughts need not be changed. But for stuff that are bad or harmful or depressing, we would desperately need a change. Why do you think happiness lies in possessing something you don't have? The explanation to this dates back to the days you were young. Young children (below the age of three), usually will want to hold new stuff in their hand, feel it, smell it and taste it. Older children (about age five, six and seven) will be curious to handle stuff they see their parents handle (like the car's driver's seat. Its the best example, children would want to drive a vehicle even if they are aware that they won't be allowed to do so). But unfortunately, children are not given everything they ask; it could either be an expensive toy or the aeroplane that flies overhead! This intention (to posses something they are not given)  gets cultivated and intensifies as they grow older. Initially, their intention to handle fancy objects were induced by their curiosity. But as they get older, they tend to associate possessing something they don't have with "victory" or "happiness". Later, as he grows more older, his desire to own stuff he doesn't have increases drastically.

So hence, most people "want everything". I don't have any objection to your views, but I just want to say that the source of happiness is yourself, and not something outside. Its because, it was you who associated happiness with materialistic gain when you were young.  

copyright (c) 2015 K Sreram. You may not distribute this article without the concerned permission from K Sreram.  
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