Thoughts Are Powerful

“You are not what you think you are.  What you think, you are.”  This is a powerful and true statement written by an unknown author.  Just ponder this.  The thoughts individuals have about themselves and the world significantly impacts who they are and what they will become in this life.

Recently, my youngest daughter enrolled in a college level English class where she was given an interesting writing assignment.  In this assignment Hannah describes her mind using comparisons.   

   

My Mind

By Hannah Stewart, age 17

“Wind blowing through the grass, birds chirping, and the sound of the river flowing by is the sounds that can be heard in a meadow.  My mind is like a meadow; it is open, big, and always has something it.

The meadow has many animals, such as birds and ants.  The Cardinals symbolize my love for gymnastics.  Like these birds I, also fly and flip high from the ground to a degree.  Like a bird must concentrate to stay in the air, I must concentrate to stay in the air and to land properly.  The ants on the ant hill stands for my ambition.  Each little ant brings something new each day to the ant hill.  Like the ants helping the colony, I like to help my friends and family.  For example, I am excited about my babysitting job.  This allows me to help mothers attend Bible study each week.  I am, also, excited to be able to help my mother organize the pantry space and more.

The meadow has beautiful wild flowers and trees on the edge.  The flowers represent my many friendships with bright shining faces.  The different colors and shapes of the flowers show the different friendships I am blessed with.  The friends I have are very encouraging, fun, positive, and caring.  On the edge of my meadow there is a big tree which represents my family.  Strong for whatever life throws at us, shade for comfort, and leaves displaying the beauty of my family relationships.  The roots represent how we are stable and always there.

My future could be compared to a bright and shining river running through the meadow.  It is always moving and taking me to places I’ve never been.  I never stay in the same place in my learning.  My meadow with all the animals, plants, and a river is big, beautiful, and always growing.  This is the way I like to think my mind is.”

I love Hannah’s descriptions of her mind. It is a reflection of who she is and what she will be in the future.  She is a person who is happy, learning, helping people, and building relationships.  She has a great life in front of her. 

It seems to me that what you expect to happen in situations or experiences will significantly influence the outcome.  For example, if I meet and greet people with a smile and enthusiastic attitude, then people will generally return the smile and have a more positive attitude.  The opposite could happen.  If I meet and greet people with a sour look and frown on my face and a grumpy attitude, what happens?  Generally, people frown and gripe.  Over time our words, thoughts, and actions become habits.  Our habits form our character.  What kind of character do you want to possess:  optimistic or pessimistic?  Or even more your character will determine you future!  Why not have optimistic thoughts about your life? 

I like what Frank Outlaw tells us about our thoughts.  “Watch your thoughts; they become words.  Watch your words; they become actions.  Watch your actions; they become habits.  Watch your habits; they become character.  Watch your character; for it becomes your destiny!”