Can We Choose Our Thoughts?
Recently, my sister sent me a replay link to a video recorded by Jody Moore, a life coach, that made perfect sense to me on how our thoughts affect our actions. She explained a coaching model that she uses to help her clients, CTFAR, then answered questions from viewers using the model. Here is a quick summary of the model:
C = Circumstances. Circumstances are facts, which are neither good or bad, but they trigger our thoughts.
T=Thoughts. Our thoughts, triggered by circumstances, are one sentence statements that we have, create, in our minds.
F = Feelings. Feelings are emotions and vibrations in your body; a one word description of how you feel and what is going to influence our actions.
A = Actions. Actions are what we do or don’t do.
R=Results. What the actions creates.
For example: Let’s say while driving down the road, suddenly someone cuts in front of you and you need to slam on the brakes to barely avoid hitting that person. That is the circumstance, it is a fact, it is what happened.
Now, what thoughts come to our mind. We could think, “What a jerk! I can’t believe s/he did that to me! That car almost created an accident!”
Possible feelings resulting from these thoughts could include anger, defensiveness, resentment, hatred.
If you feel angry, you may do nothing, or you may tailgate the car to try to teach the driver a lesson, or you may yell at someone, among other possible actions.
What are the possible results of the actions? An accident, you feel like your day was ruined, your vibrations are lowered?
Now, after being cut off by the vehicle, what if you thought, “I am grateful that my brakes are working well. I hope that person got to where s/he needed to go.”
Possible feelings of these thoughts could be gratitude, relief, positivity, love, happiness, peace.
What actions would you take with these feelings? Maybe there is no action but to continue driving. Another possible action could be to have a better day because of your feelings of peace.
Compare the results with those of the first example. Think about your personal vibrations with the difference of the thoughts.
I love this chart showing the vibration scale of emotions. Where do you want to be on this chart? In energy therapy, we work diligently in our sessions to rid ourselves of our negative emotions and energies. Is it possible to learn to create the positive emotions rather than the negative emotions, thus having less emotional baggage?
According to Paul, the fruits of the spirit are: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance (Galations 5:22-23). Interesting that the first three fruits that he mentions are love, joy, and peace, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th levels on the chart.
Think about CTFAR next time you create thoughts about a specific circumstance. Where will your thoughts lead you? Where do you want your thoughts to lead you? Start practicing. It may take some time to retrain our brains to create positive thoughts about specific circumstances and that is perfectly okay!!
Here is the link to the video which explains CTFAR much better than I did. Let me know what you think after watching the video. You can also look CTFAR up on the Internet to learn more.
https://thelifecoachschool.com/video/video-the-model-part-1/
And, here is one more incredible source to help us change our mindsets to positive and productive thoughts: https://ryangottfredson.com/
Make it a great day today!!
Meriden 🙂