Thoughts – Character – Destiny

“Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes…
your destiny.”

Recently, a friend of mine sent the above quote. I don’t know the source but I do know that it moved me. I like the “transitiveness” of it.

I have thought for quite awhile that we humans live in our minds. That is, we are what we think and what we think becomes our reality. OK, enough of the philosophy!

Let’s look deeper into the quote. Our thoughts become words. The first dramatic example that came to my mind was Adolph Hitler. Before his rise to power in Germany, he lived in Vienna, Austria, where he did a lot of thinking about what, eventually, became words that he used as a politician. Those words, first in writing his book, Mein Kampf, then through his powerful speeches, became actions.

Now, those actions were something that were not only his actions, but also those of his followers and/or armed forces. And, indeed, they did become habits. That leads us to character. Hitler’s character, in the long run became not only his, but also his army’s destiny. The destiny of fighting what became a losing battle against the forces of the free world.

The preceding two paragraphs were meant to be my humble attempt to add clarity to my interpretation of the quote. Ultimately, I think we must be careful about what we spend time thinking about.

I have heard many times the phrase “innocent thought.” Considering what I’ve written so far, I think it is safe to say that I don’t think most thoughts are “innocent,” especially if the word “innocent” means without consequences. Our thoughts determine who we are – our words, actions, habits, character and destiny. Ouch! Or, yea! :-)

I say YEA! Let’s make it a positive. Are you dissatisfied with who you are? Consider changing your thoughts as a start toward the new you.

WE ARE WHAT WE THINK!

What do you think?

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