Episode 230 - You Don't Need to Give a Repeated Thought More Weight

Hi I'm Keith and welcome to Lighter than You Started. It's Tuesday and today I'd like to talk about something our minds can be remarkably good at. Repeating themselves. Perhaps you'd rather thought appear in your mind then disappear then return ten minutes later then again over lunch then once more while you're trying to concentrate on something completely different. Before long you can begin wondering why do I keep thinking about this?' And sometimes another conclusion quietly follows 'it must be important.' That's understandable.

If someone keeps knocking on the door eventually we assume we should answer it. But perhaps our thoughts don't always work that way. Sometimes our thought repeats because it matters. There's something we need to address. A decision we've been avoiding.

A conversation we know we need to have. A problem requiring our attention. But sometimes a thought repeats simply because we thought it before. Our minds are creatures of habit they become familiar with certain routes and familiar routes are easy to travel. Think about walking across a field.

The first person who crosses has to make their own way through the grass but if enough people follow the same route eventually a path appears and once there's a path people naturally use it. Not necessarily because it's the best route simply because it's already there. Perhaps our thinking can be rather similar. We create mental paths a discern, a memory, a criticism, a familiar worry and because we've traveled that route many times before our minds find it really easily. The thought returns not because it's become more true not because it's become more urgent Simply because the part is well worn.

I think it's an important distinction. Repetition can create a strange sense of authority. Hear something often enough and it begins to sound convincing. Even when the person repeating it is ourselves. I'm not very good at this.

I always get this wrong. Something will probably go wrong. I should have handled that differently. The more often those sentences appear the more solid they can begin to feel. But frequency isn't evidence.

A thought doesn't become true because it's visited you 12 times today. It may simply be familiar. Perhaps today when you notice a thought returning you could try something slightly different. Instead of asking why am I thinking this again ask 'is there anything new here?' That's a useful question because if some thought contains something that genuinely needs your attention you can respond to it. But if it's simply repeating yesterday's worry in today's voice perhaps you don't need to sit through the whole performance again.

You can notice it, recognise a familiar path and choose not to walk all the way down it. That doesn't mean fighting with your thoughts or trying to force them away. Sometimes that only gives them more attention. It's simply recognizing them for what they are. Ah I've been here before.

There's something gentle about that. No argument. No judgment. Just recognition. And then perhaps return your attention to what's actually happening.

The person you're speaking with. The work in front of you. The sound outside the window. The cup of tea you've forgotten that's getting cold. This moment.

Because while your mind may enjoy revisiting familiar territory Life is happening somewhere else. Right here. Right now. So if a thought keeps returning today remember repetition doesn't automatically make it important. Familiarity doesn't make it true.

And you don't have to give a thought more weight simply because you've heard it before. Today's thought for you. You don't need to give a repeated thought more weight. Thank you for sharing this moment and as always I hope you end today feeling lighter than you started. Go gently and I'll see you tomorrow on the flip side.

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