How many thoughts do you think you have in a day? What is your estimate – a thousand? Two thousand? Experts estimate that the mind thinks between 60,000 – 80,000 thoughts a day. That’s an average of 2500 – 3,300 thoughts per hour, or 41 – 55 thoughts per minute! That’s a lot of thoughts! How many of our thoughts are positive vs. negative? Some people have estimated that upwards of 70-80% of our daily thoughts are negative. This of course depends on the person and their thought process.
When my children were little and they would say something negative, I would say to them ‘that’s not very nice, let’s change that into something nice.’ I would work with them to help them develop a way to change their thought patterns. These lessons grew as they grew and eventually the ‘thoughts are things’ lessons became a regular mantra between me and my children. My son, who is now 23, and I were talking the other day and he was iterating to me a conversation he was having with someone who said to him ‘Thoughts are things, make them good ones.” He said he couldn’t believe what he was hearing and told the person he was talking to “You know, one of the first things I remember my Mom teaching me was ‘Thoughts are Things.’ I was happy to know that he has carried this into his adulthood, because it has served him well.
Thoughts are a form of energy, so they are things. Really! Has this ever happened to you: You have to be somewhere at a particular time and you are rushing around trying to get there on time and are constantly thinking ‘I’m going to be late, I’m going to be late,’ all the while you are going as fast as you can, but those thoughts persist and you end up being late? It’s happened to us all, but have you ever stopped to think that maybe if you had said to yourself ‘I’m going to be on time, I’m going to be on time,’ you could have changed the outcome and been on time? I’ve done this more times than I can say — and it works! Case in point: My car’s engine light came on the other day and it was making strange noises, and just like you I instantly thought ‘Oh, goodness how much is this going to cost me?’ I quickly caught myself and then started my mantra of “The problem with my car will be affordable.” I kept this up until my mechanic called me and told me it was some corrosion and the cost was something I could afford.
There have been times in my life when I was worrying over something and my thoughts turned negative. I catch myself, take a deep breath, and say at least 3 times ‘It’s going to be OK, everything will turn out the way it should.’ Not only are you changing your thought pattern and possibly the outcome of the situation with this positive thinking, it also makes you feel better internally, because you are cleaning out the negative thoughts that were making you anxious.
Is it possible to have 100% positive thoughts? Oh, that would be nice! However, it’s quite the challenge when you are thinking 41-55 thoughts per minute. But, you can make the percentage of positive thoughts increase over negative by being cognizant of your thoughts. When you are being negative, stop yourself, and change it into a positive. The more you practice this, the more you are changing your thought pattern into a more positive one vs. negative. Pretty soon, you will not be catching yourself so much, because your thoughts will already be positive without the effort.
I’m positive you can increase your happy thought patterns. Now all you have to do is believe it and practice it. 🙂
Recipe of the Day – Quiche Bites
Ingredients
-10 Eggs
-1/2 cup of milk
-1 cup of pepper jack cheese
-1 cup of Monterrey jack cheese
-1/2 cup of diced ham
-Spray oil (olive or coconut)
-One small muffin pan (24)
Recipe
>Preheat oven to 350
>Spray muffin pan with oil
>Combine eggs and milk and whisk well
>Pour egg mixture into a glass measuring cup or other cup that has a pour spout
>Fill each cup in the pan 2/3 of the way with the egg mixture
>Fill each cup with a portion of cheese & ham and press into egg mixture (if you don’t the cheese will burn instead of melt into egg mixture)
>Bake at 350 for 20 -25 minutes (until egg is a bit golden on top and toothpick comes out clean)
Note: When cooked the mixture will puff up like a souffle, and that is fine, because when you take it out of the oven, it will go back into place, giving you a perfect little Quiche bite
