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The Thought Meter

While sitting in my sunroom this morning, I remembered a very interesting dream. Here in the states, the police have a mechanism for checking how fast people drive in busy neighborhoods by using something called a radar speed sign - a sign that flashes your speed as you drive by. In my dream, I was driving down a neighborhood street when I came upon one of these signs. However, as I drove toward it, the sign didn't flash my speed, it flashed my thoughts - the actual thoughts I was thinking in that very moment (anxious thoughts about being late for an appointment). I was so amazed by what I saw that I wondered if it was my imagination. So I turned around to drive by again.

Sure enough, as I pulled up, the sign flashed my actual thoughts: "I can't believe what I'm seeing." When I woke from the dream I laid in bed for a long time thinking about what life would be like if each of us had a flashing "thought meter" on our street. Just imagine. Each day, as we traveled to and from work or from doing errands, we'd be able to catch a glimpse of what we're thinking.  What thoughts would you see on most days?  Positive, life-enhancing thoughts or worrisome ones that steal your energy?

If you find yourself in the latter category, don't be alarmed. The truth is most people live with a majority of less-than-desirable thoughts running around in their heads. Rather than beat yourself up, better to slow down and focus on getting a better reading on the meter . This plan begins with awareness.

Here's something to keep in mind: Awareness raises consciousness. Read that last line again because it's important. Just becoming aware of your typical thought patterns will actually stimulate a move toward emotional health. That's because the moment you notice a negative thought, you then become aware of the importance of shifting your mind to something more positive. And then the fun begins. When you focus your mind on something good, it creates good feelings, and those good feelings fuel you to make better choices. And better choices in turn, give you a better life. Let's look at an example to see what I mean.

Let's imagine that you're worried about paying your bills.  When you turn your thought meter on, you notice that your mind is filled with all kinds of frightening images about what's going to happen because of how little money you have. If you make a choice to shift these thoughts to something like "I have the power within me to improve my financial health," and you keep returning to this thought, it will automatically make you feel empowered to change your circumstances. This feeling of being empowered - a life-affirming feeling - will lead you to find actions you can take right now to improve your situation. Then, once you identify an action and take it, you not only change the course of your life, you reinforce your positive thoughts and the cycle starts all over again.

So, the first step toward success is to turn on your thought meter. To that end, check out this week's Take Action Challenge for three ways to do just that.


Take Action Challenge

Ready to monitor your thoughts? Here are three things you can do to create your own thought meter right now:

1. Set an alarm on your computer, your wristwatch, or a nearby clock for every 30 minutes, and when it goes off, notice what you're thinking.

2. Purchase a big sheet of colored stickers with fun images on them and place these stickers around your home and office. Then, each time you see one, stop and take note of your thoughts.

3. Place several check marks on your daily calendar (or in your PDA) at various times throughout the day and when you come upon one, stop and monitor your thoughts.

Once you become aware of any negative thoughts, choose one area that feels most overwhelming and develop a simple phrase that will start to counteract these unhelpful thinking patterns. Start with just one area of your life and watch what happens.