For much of my life, I believed my thoughts were beyond my control. They just entered my mind automatically and did whatever they wished to do. Even worse, I believed that I was my thoughts. Thankfully, I discovered that nothing could be further from the truth. We are not our thoughts. Instead, we are the thinkers of our thoughts. We are the creators of the thoughts that flow through our minds and, given this fact, we can change our thoughts if we choose to do so.
This seemingly obvious insight was an epiphany for me. I soon became far more aware of the thoughts I allowed into my mind and the inner dialogue that takes place within every one of us every waking hour of every living day. I began to pay complete attention to the quality of my thoughts. This awareness was the first step to changing them. Over a matter of months, I trained my mind to focus only on positive, inspiring and enlightening thoughts. And in doing so, I saw the outer circumstances of my life change.
Just as you are not your thoughts, you are not your moods. You are the creator of the moods your experience, moods that you can change in a single instant. If you choose to do so, you can feel peace in a moment of stress, joy in a time of sadness and energy during a time of fatigue.
Excerpt from Who WIll Cry When You Die by Robin Sharma. www.robinsharma.com