How to let a Thought Go

While it is not entirely possible to let a thought go, we can learn a bit more control.  Our minds are very creative and will fill our brain with thoughts about everything, from feasible to impossible. That is why people who read the book first often don’t like the movie – because our brain fills the book in with tiny details and then the movie doesn’t match the picture in our heads.

The article from Psych Central  tries to outline this nicely in the blog about “Cultivating your own Happiness”

Our minds also try to protect us by determining how to avoid danger. Just about everyone experiences a time when the monkey-mind crowds out our ability to appreciate and enjoy our lives – or so it can seem.  Going to school programs us to think that our thoughts are in charge of us instead of the other way around.

Let’s develop a different sort of relationship with our thoughts. Let’s experiment with some of the following ideas to gain a bit of healthy distance from your thoughts and to disentangle yourself from obsessing:

If I let this thought control my behavior, where will this get me? 

         Will my life be enriched, or will I be limiting myself unnecessarily?

 Why does this thought have to control me?

          Who or what is in control here?

Is this thought helpful or hurtful?

            Why am I having this thought?

 Can I do anything about this thought?

            Is it beneficial to have this thought

 Is this in the future or in the past?

            Can I do anything about it right now?

Can I recognize that although I am having this thought, I am not my thought? Or am I aware that although I am experiencing a feeling, I am not my feeling? Talking back to or about your thought or feeling as if they are separate entities can help to create some distance.  Some things to try:

 “Thank you, mind, for attempting to keep me safe”

“That’s an interesting thought.”

“This is just a thought, it’s not the entire me”

 “I notice I’m having the thought that…”

We can begin to train our brains to refocus – a better way to put it than “Letting thoughts go” which implies magical powers.