Our perception of reality is very real. We will feel what we think, and our feelings are real — that is completely undeniable. However, our thinking can look like an inevitable, unchangeable reality until we begin to see how our reality is created.

If we know that we can only ever feel what we are thinking, then we know that we can change our feelings by changing our thinking. In this way, we can change our experience of life by knowing that it comes from our own thinking.

1. Obsessively read books.
2. Pursue new mental models.
3. Enjoy intelligent discourse.
4. Quickly admit when they’re wrong.
5. Are comfortable changing their opinion.
6. Surround themselves with intelligence.
7. Seek to understand every perspective on a topic.

Thoughts are the energetic, mental raw materials from which we use to create everything in the world. We can’t experience anything without thought. It’s important to know that thoughts are nouns and aren’t something that we do, but something we have. A thought takes no effort or force on our end, and it is something that just happens. We also cannot control what thoughts pop into our minds. The source of thoughts comes from something that is beyond our minds—the Universe, if you will.

Thinking, on the other hand, is the act of thinking about our thoughts. This takes a significant amount of energy, effort, and willpower (which is a finite resource). Thinking is actively engaging with the thoughts in your mind. You don’t have to engage with each thought in your mind, but when you do, that is thinking.

Thinking is the root cause of all our psychological suffering.

Now you might be wondering, where do positive thoughts fit into the picture? Positive thoughts, or thoughts that feel good, are not a result of thinking. They are, instead, generated by our natural state of peace, love, and joy. They are a byproduct of a state of being, not a state of thinking. We will go into depth about this in the next chapter.

Choice is creation.
To choose is to create.
Through my choices I create my reality.

At every moment in my life I have a choice.
Moments add up to a lifetime; choices add up to a life.

What kind of life do I want for myself?
What choices will create this kind of life?

If your time had passed, you would have passed away too. The fact that you are here, your time to make IT happen is still here too. Whoever you believe is sitting up in heaven won’t call you back until you DO the work that you feel inspired to do.

You have time. The only time you lose is when you feel scared of running out of it instead of using it to go after what ignites your soul.