Protecting Your Thoughts (The art of Thinking Carefully)

There's an absolutely huge responsibility for the creative to know and foster the right sort of thinking, because ideas become reality.  Reality works from the inside out.  We become what we think.

It's the secret, in negative application, behind Murphy's Law. Once someone commits to the idea that life is picking on them, more negative things start to happen to them.

It’s as if our thoughts go out seeking things to vindicate our ideas or suspicions.  Our minds send vibrations into the universe to seek supporting data.  In the negative sense, this becomes a closed circuit of self-fulfilling prophecy.

But we can change how we think.  We can learn to think differently.  And as we do, reality will line up differently.  Our most valuable asset is this freedom to think.  We are actually in charge of what we think about.

For some this may be a new idea.  Thinking differently takes time. And practice.  When we are used to being passive with our thoughts, active thinking may feel forced, strange, and even like we are censoring our creative freedom.

We are not.  

Careful thinking may be the difference between humility and self-sabotage. Humility is the healthy sort of admitting our lack, knowing our weaknesses.  Knowing these limits create necessary tension for the creative process.  

Here is what is; here is where we would like to be.  That tension breeds more creativity.

The unscrutinized acceptance of any and every thought is not creativity; it is uncensored compliance with whatever happens to enter our head, positive or negative.  For some of those thoughts lead directly toward self-sabotage and believing lies about ourself.   

Not all our thoughts are inspired.  Some are downright harmful.  

Believing lies about ourself can take us down a road that leads only to despair.  Soon we believe nothing else.  And before long, we believe that nothing we do even matters.  That we don’t really matter.  

What could otherwise be an occasion for a healthy sense of limitation (aka humility) becomes instead a chance for our wounded pride to defensively  proclaim “I can’t do it.”  “I have nothing original to say.”  “My work doesn’t matter.”  

We start believing these self-sabotaging lies because they are masked in pseudo-humility (aka arrogance).  They sound, initially, humble (that’s why they are good lies).  In reality, they are masks of fear.  Believing them removes us from the source of our creativity, our interior sense of self.  

We slowly atrophy into a state of complete withdrawal. 

The goal of real humility is never withdraw. The point of humility is to realize our need for others, and for wisdom (we do not and can not know everything); NOT to strand us on the island of isolation, clear of any risk of injury to our pride.

We need risk to thrive.  

Though our self-sabotaging fear will keep us daydreaming about a risk-free future, it is a lie.  There is no such thing.  And though our weak, injured pride will try to insulate us from harm, we must keep trying.  Humility reminds us this freedom to try and to risk is indeed the very nature of what makes us human.  

Why would ever forgo a chance to experience this beautiful mystery?     

Yes we are limited.  Sure we can’t see the end or know everything.  Yep.

So what!  Bring on the risk.  Take the leap!  

This is what it means to be human.