It's about intentionally engaging my mind in productive thought rather than destructive thought.
I see productive thought as being a method of thinking that promotes a positive outlook and is suitable for sustaining contentment,
Creativity,
Progression,
And success.
On the other hand,
I see destructive thought as being a method of thinking that facilitates a negative outlook and is conducive for continuous sulking and stress,
Narrow-mindedness,
Stagnation,
And failure.
When I am thinking productively,
I attempt to embrace and interact with my thoughts.
However,
When I find myself thinking destructively,
I attempt to position myself as an observer of my thinking or simply allow myself to not think at all and maintain a still mind.
Here are a few examples that compare my outlook on life between the times in my earlier years when I was predominantly a destructive thinker with a mostly negative worldview and times in my later years when I have been more of a productive thinker with a predominantly positive worldview.
Previously in my destructive thinking days,
I tended to think I had all the answers,
Felt like I needed to be an expert if I began something new,
Wanted to know things immediately,
And became frustrated with ambiguity.
Now in my more productive thinking days,
I realize there is very little that I know,
Appreciate the opportunity to be a novice,
Value uncertainty as a step toward new knowledge,
And can find comfort in ambiguous contexts.
Previously,
In my destructive thinking days,
I tended to avoid criticism,
Become defensive and fear failure.
Now in my more productive thinking days,
I am more inclined to seek criticism,
Be vulnerable,
And embrace failure.
Here's a list of additional examples describing what I perceive to be a shift from destructive thought to productive thought.
Rather than searching for what's wrong with the situation,
I'm more inclined to see what's right.
Instead of focusing on what I am not able to contribute,
I focus on what I am able to provide.
Rather than seeing some moments as being a waste of time,
I tend to think there is a purpose for each and every moment.
Instead of having an imbalanced emphasis on self-serving intentions,
I aim to pursue intentions that collectively serve broader purposes.
Rather than having an outcome-only orientation,
I strive to have a balanced orientation that includes a focus on both processes and outcomes when appropriate.
Instead of thinking one size fits all,
I have a tendency to think that one size fits what it's meant to fit.
Rather than pursuing meaningless and passionless goals,
I strive to set and pursue goals that are both full of meaning and passion.
Instead of trying to give something to any audience,
I attempt to give things to the right audiences.
Rather than being envy-driven,
I tend to be value-driven.
Instead of pursuing initiatives with empty approaches,
I am more inclined to pursue them with quality,
Wholesome approaches.
Rather than dropping what's important for all the rest,
I am likely to drop all the rest for things that are important.
Instead of doing something simply for the sake of doing something,
I am inclined to do something because the doing of it matters.
Rather than trying to force a direction,
I am more likely to pray for and allow a direction to serendipitously surface.
Instead of seeking and dwelling on problems,
I look for opportunities.
Rather than forcing you to see what you can learn from me,
I position myself to be a learner from you.
Instead of yearning to be expedited along a path to success,
I want to contemplatively walk the path of success.
Rather than thinking I'm as good as I'll ever be,
I realize that I have yet to scratch the surface of my optimum potential.
Instead of being competition-oriented,
I tend to have a collaboration orientation.
Rather than being jealous of someone whom I perceive to be successful,
I am likely to be inspired by them.
Instead of forcing myself to be passionate about something,
I allow my passions to naturally present themselves.
Rather than forcing something to fit into a place where it doesn't belong,
I am inclined to allow things to effortlessly gravitate toward their place.
Instead of forcing myself to have a vision for the future,
I am likely to allow a vision to emerge through unforced resonance.
Rather than wanting to only be a giver or only be a receiver,
I want to have the right balance of being able to give and receive.
Instead of obsessively desiring material things,
I lean toward wanting intangible things that I perceive to matter more.
Rather than wanting either all of the control or no control over a situation,
I want an appropriate balance of having control and not having control.
Instead of seeing the world through a lens of scarcity where there's way too little,
I tend to interpret it through a lens of abundance where there's way more than enough to go around.
Rather than being focused on perfection and needing things to be perfect,
I am more focused on identifying the best available option and have a tendency to think that things only need to be as good as they possibly can be given the context.
Instead of having a rigid expectation orientation,
I tend to have a flexible acceptance orientation.
Rather than exceeding my limits and living beyond my capacity,
I am learning to realize my limits and live within my capacity.
Instead of wanting to be everything to everyone and ending up becoming nothing at all to anyone,
I want to be something to somebody.
Rather than not wanting to play if I'm not the best,
I want to play because I love to play.
Instead of allocating my attention to what inspires someone else,
I pay attention to what inspires me.
Rather than putting on the best facade I can possibly wear,
I try to be as authentic as I can be.
Instead of trying to be good at what someone else is great at,
I aim to be great at what I am naturally good at.
Rather than existing in a state of self-oblivion,
I feel like I typically reside within a state of self-awareness.
Instead of rejecting my intuition,
I trust my intuition.
Rather than not wanting to show you who I really am,
I want to show you my truest self.
Instead of being apprehensive about revealing my interests,
I am becoming more comfortable revealing my interests.
Rather than yearning for something more or different,
I tend to appreciate what I currently have.
Instead of wanting right now what exists over there,
I want right now what's currently here.
Rather than making excuses,
I am likely to accept realities.
Instead of being past and future focused,
I am inclined to be focused on the present.
These represent some examples of how my outlook has shifted over the years from what I perceive to have been destructive thinking toward productive thinking.
I value productive thought in moderation and take caution to not think excessively,
As I have found that overthinking can prompt redundant thinking in the shape of needlessly destructive thought.
A productive thought that becomes a redundant thought may transform into a destructive thought without notice.
Similar to how constructive physical exercise can become detrimental to my bodily health through overexertion of my physical muscles,
Thinking can be detrimental to my cognitive well-being through overexertion of my mental muscles.
When I exercise physically,
I allow ample rest for my muscles between routines,
So they have an opportunity to recover and grow.
I do not constantly engage in physical exercise all day,
Every day without rest.
Although it is much more challenging for me,
I seek to replicate this type of strategy within the workings of my mind.
I attempt to think productively,
And when my productive thoughts are at risk for being redundant or otherwise becoming destructive,
I try not to think,
But to simply be aware.
I feel that just as relaxing with exercise-free moments between strength and aerobic routines can be powerful for the health and growth of my body,
Relaxing with thoughtless moments between sessions of productive thinking can be powerful for the health and growth of my mind.
I used to find it disturbingly easy to perceive life through a negative lens,
And interpreted my experiences in harshly critical and destructive ways.
I often looked for what was wrong in any given situation,
And found myself naturally gravitating toward a focus on what was bad about my existence,
Bad about humanity,
And bad about the world overall.
It was difficult to see the world any differently,
And seemed impossible for me to see goodness on any day.
Now I tend to perceive the world with a mindset that vastly deviates from the way I used to see things,
Often perceiving life through a much more positive lens and interpreting most of my experiences in a loving and constructive way.
Contrary to my instinctively pessimistic outlook during earlier years,
It currently feels natural to search for and see what's right.
It actually seems almost impossible now for me to obsessively dwell on what I would have previously perceived to have been wrong.
I believe this shift has been a positive evolution in my thinking that has positioned me to proceed through life with a sense that I am in the right place,
At the right time,
And that something of value may be gleaned through essentially all situations.
