You'll Be Stuck With That Thought Until You Aren't - Grasshopper

There is no debate that thoughts are the glue that keep us stuck. The question is, "who has the glue remover?" The answer may surprise you.

Thoughts that continually roll around in our head are sticky. They want to stick around. This is a function of the ego. If the ego can convince us that suffering thoughts and guilt must stay in our mind because they are our saviors, then it can stay in control. The ego is like many politicians. Their main goal after getting elected is to get reelected.

The truth is this: Thinking the same thoughts over and over will keep you glued right where you are. When the thoughts go away, so does your inertia. But how do they go away?

You cannot positively think yourself out of this sticky dilemma. That is a grand idea that doesn't work. Thinking is the culprit - positive or negative. You cannot will yourself to replace a negative thought with a positive thought. Whomever is telling you that has no idea how the mind works. Keep your hand on your wallet when you are around these people. They are selling empty promises.

Thinking happens without any control from us. Thoughts pop into our mind and we have no control over the flavor. Notice that we label the thought after it arrives as positive or negative. When you believe that you can repeat a certain type of thought over and over again and expect it to take hold, you have fallen victim to the snake oil salesman. That's no different than watching a pre-recorded show on TV and expecting the plotline to change because you're thinking positive thoughts.

Also notice that the ego will beat you up about having certain thoughts so that it can impose guilt upon you. So let's say you have an "awful" thought pop into your mind. The conditioned response is to feel guilty for having such an abominable thought. STOP. You had nothing to do with the thought popping in. Feeling guilty about something you had nothing to do with is an insurance policy that the thought will hang around.

Thoughts do go away when the mind latches on to another more compelling thought that pops in, but that is no guarantee that it won't come back for endless curtain calls in the future.

So who has the glue remover? You do. It's called presence of mind.

Have the presence of mind to notice that you are in a thought loop. That means when you catch yourself thinking the same thing over and over again, have the presence of mind to step back and just notice.

Noticing (presence of mind) is the glue remover. Don't judge the thought or admonish yourself for having a thought - just notice it. You may even comment to yourself, "I'm having the thought about feeling guilty about (fill in the blank). 

When you begin to observe your mind at work, you have presence of mind. When you employ presence of mind, thoughts come around less and less until they eventually lose all their adhesive.

It's pure entertainment to stand back and watch the show that your mind puts on 365 days a year. When you have the presence of mind to know that it's only a show, that's when you become Teflon coated.

Remember this: An observed thought gathers no glue.
 
All the best,
John