choose (chooz)
verb (used with object)
- To select from a number of possible alternatives; decide on and pick out.
think (thingk)
verb (used without object)
- to employ one’s mind rationally and objectively in evaluating or dealing with a given situation.
- to have a certain thing as the subject of one’s thoughts.
- to consider something as a possible action, choice.
This morning I am tired, so tired that it warrants the inclusion of the first ever unhappy face on my blog 
Just typing that has made me laugh though, so things can’t be that bad 
I awoke today way ahead of schedule at the rather early hour of 1.00am and despite my best efforts I’m still awake now – it’s currently 6.30am. This generally happens to me once or twice a week and while it’s not life threatening it is annoying, especially when it’s Legs day Why the smile? Because at the end of the day I choose to find it amusing. I could be really grumpy about it – part of me would actually like to be – but doing that won’t mystically refresh and rejuvenate me so what’s the point? I did allow myself a small outburst as I lay on the sofa wrapped in my snuggly blanket trying unsuccessfully to fall back asleep but even then it disintegrated into laughter
This leads me amazingly neatly, especially considering my fatigued state, into something that’s been a recurrent theme this week.
You can choose how you think about situations
As shocking as this simple statement may be to some of you it’s a truth. Regular readers will hopefully notice the exactitude of that last sentence To quote myself from my first ever blog post way back in January and kindly reposted in a slightly tweaked 2012 edition here only 2 days ago “Please note here that I said simple, not easy”
I’ve been doing this for years, having initially encountered the concept in an explicit sense in a book by Robert Anton Wilson what must now be a good 20 years ago. I thought it was ‘The New Inquisition’ but a Google search (I am of the opinion that pretty much anything can be discovered with a Google search) not only turned up the exact quote I was trying to recall but revealed that it was in fact ‘The Cosmic Trigger’. As Google so kindly provided me with it I’ll share the quotation with you as well
“This book does not claim that you “create your own reality” in the sense of total (but mysteriously unconscious) psycho kinesis. If a car hits you and puts you in the hospital, I do not believe this is because you “really wanted” to be hit by a car, or that you “needed” to be hit by a car, as two popular New Age bromides have it.
The theory of transactional psychology, which is the source of my favourite models and metaphors, merely says that, once you have been hit by a car, the meaning of the experience depends entirely on you and the results depend partly on you (and partly on your doctors). If it is medically possible for you to live — and sometimes even if the doctors think it is medically impossible — you ultimately decide whether to get out of the hospital in a hurry or to lie around suffering and complaining.”
This ‘model’ of ‘reality’ made sense to me at the time and it still does today. Finding a positive spin on things is possible and as with all things it gets easier with practice If you’re happy with your current state of mind that’s great, but if you’re not – change it Instead of trying to change the world, change how you perceive it, it’s much simpler and for once it’s easier too
This entire post is evidence of the efficacy of this model, in my reality anyway When my mind was flirting with grumpiness earlier the thought of writing this was far from pleasing, I had nothing planned and frankly I didn’t want to write a blog post, I just wanted to sleep damn it In this case I was too tired to actually muster enough energy to think of anything positive so I simply fell back into auto pilot.
Remember that post on leverage? Well I made a commitment to write a blog post every week way back in June and I do this on Thursdays. So I put that to the forefront of my mind, ignored my grouchy voice, opened a new word document, started typing and here we are My grouchiness has long since faded, I’ve written my post and scheduled a cheeky little nap before I hit my legs this afternoon.
Normal service is resumed and as a result of my early awakening I get to look forward to a nice early night tonight. I’m even going to pick up some Green and Blacks hot chocolate and make an event of it
P.S. As ever could you hit the ‘Like’ button on the left please You can ‘Tweet’ it as well if you like, which would be ground breaking and quite exciting as it has never been done before
P.P.S. In case any of you are wondering where the title came from it’s simple – firstly I hadn’t mentioned Kai Greene all post and this quote is not only relevant but it gives me an excuse to include a photo of him and secondly it’s about thought and I’m thinking about food right now The CBTD is a revelation and I’m away now to grab some fajitas for my next meal Workouts are going well too, fortified by the invocative power of the KGTH
