I just read some pretty interesting statistics. Our minds are constantly pouring out thoughts, beliefs, and self-talk. According to scientists, we have about 60,000 thoughts per day. If you do the math, that’s one thought per second during every waking hour. SubhanAllah!
Furthermore, of those 60,000 thoughts, 95 % of them are the exact same thoughts you had yesterday, and the day before that and the day before that. Over and over, the thoughts play around in your mind, like a never ending loop. And research also shows that of those habitual thoughts, 80% of them are negative ones.
How many times a day have ones like these played over in your mind:
‘I hate my (fill in the blank)’
‘I’m worried about (fill in the blank)’
‘I won’t be able to accomplish (fill in the blank)’
‘I’m horrible for thinking/doing/saying (fill in the blank)’
‘Nobody cares about me’
Having negative thoughts often has a profound effect on your anxiety levels and health. On the other hand, positive thoughts have a calming, nourishing effect on the mind. They are the medicine needed for that which ails us.
To think negative thoughts, ones that are judgmental, worrisome, and make you dwell on the bad, is to sentence yourself to a prison of your own making. And frequently, when you finally realize the truth about those thoughts, you smack yourselves on the head and can’t believe you were so misguided in them.
When Maryam and Hanifa were building that castle, their intention may have been to make Maya feel better, to have something to house her doll in. But Maya’s thoughts immediately jumped to the negative, and she’s the one who suffered for it.
Can you think of times when your thoughts were so completely off the mark?
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Undoubtedly, having the ability to replace negative thoughts with positive ones is most ideal.
People will say, ‘think positive’. But sometimes this is just ‘fluffy’ advice that doesn’t mean much. How about something a bit different:
“Don’t believe everything you think!”
Do you believe everything you read? Probably not. Do you believe everything you hear? Probably not. And if seeing is believing, then where does Photoshop fit in?
Similarly, your thoughts don’t always give you a true glimpse of reality. And when you hold the power to shine the light on them, you can take away their power to cause you grief.
Here’s an exercise to do:
1. Write down your negative thought.
2. Ask yourself, ‘is it true?’
3. Can you be certain it is absolutely true?
4. How do you react when you believe that thought? What happens? How do you treat others when you believe that thought? How do you treat yourself when you believe that thought?
5. Who would you be without that thought? How would you be different if you didn’t believe that thought?
Now turn the thought around. Write down the newer one. Is that as true as the old one? Is it more true? Each time you get a newer thought, find 3 real examples of how much truer that thought is in your life.
(adapted from ‘The Work’ by Katie Byron)
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When you get into the habit of questioning your thoughts, you’ll learn that you don’t need to be a hero of positivity to deal with negative ones. And as you get better at questioning those that slow you down and make you feel miserable, they will lose their power over you. You will feel lighter, happier, more capable.
The drama will dissipate.
Poor Maya, she really needs a coach 
60 000 thoughts per day?! Mind blogling. I think just being aware that 95% of them are the same from yesterday makes me conscious of what I think and makes me observe whether it is negative or positive.
Excellent post, ma sha Allah.
This mental busyness is what Buddhists call “Monkey Mind,” and how true it is! Another take-away from this is the importance of salah and dhikr…these are tools for breaking past- or future-oriented thinking and get into what is always true: Allah!!
It seems that many have benefited from the work of Katie Byron; I’ve looked into her myself. What’s more profound, though, is that cognitive therapy is part of the Muslim heritage, as early Muslim physicians clearly understood that emotions follow thoughts and that, therefore, emotional disturbances can be cured by changing thought.
nice post and very true!
This is a good post mashAllah. Atleast i was lookin forward to sum of this stuff. If there is more then wud love it!
Wow 60,000 thoughts per day! and 80% negative!
that just shows how negative we are and because of this there is anxiety and all those other diseases. we really need to think positive.
on a lighter note in some movie there was some person who kept saying be positive and someone asked him why do you always say be positive? he replied by saying “that is my blood type b+ (be positive)!!! and i keep saying it so i don’t forget it! LOL..funny eh?
LOL – I actually am B+ – truely
Assalam alaikum,
Lol my i am also B+ve,glad to know that our blood group matches.:)
In the words of someone else….”Even my blood has attitude, its B+”