If you don’t like what you are thinking, particularly if it is harmful to you or others, you can change it! What a simple idea. But is it really possible? Indeed it is. And it doesn’t mean living in a state of denial about “reality.” It means only that we don’t have to harbor any thought, bad or good….
Once I got over the initial resistance, a resistance that was fueled by fears of new behavior, I began to see that this knowledge — that we choose our thoughts and always have, even those hideously mean-spirited ones — can be very empowering. For instance, it means that no one can put us down and hold us there. It means that no one can make us a failure at anything we try. It means that we are as smart as our willingness to do the footwork. It means that we can change any experience we might be having in the middle of it! All we have to do is change what is in our mind….
The fact is, we can free ourselves from the past and from any thought that hasn’t comforted us. When your thoughts no longer fit your reality, change them! You may have to keep working at it, keep challenging your thoughts and ensuring that they’re not holding you hostage to some outdated picture of the world, but the choice is always yours. In every moment, we get to choose.
— Karen Casey, Change Your Mind and Your Life Will Follow, p. 33-37