Our mind is a funny thing.
Our thoughts can freeze, so that you don't remember a word or a person's name. But, there are miraculous instances when your brain is actually working and your thoughts come very smoothly.
The thoughts can be a simple as, "what should I eat today? or should I even eat today? Food. Food is important." But it can also turn into a complicated, weird, and sometimes meticulous stream of consciousness.
I think of thoughts like a tree; the branches grow leaves, but the branches can also grow other branches that are not on the same path as the others. Our thoughts are the same way. You have one idea and you didn't know it could lead to another random idea or thought.
Albert Einstein sat down and had these moments of thought that he called thought experiments where he figured out a lot of his discoveries. The weird, yet relevant question of 'what if I was a particle of light? How fast would I go?' At first, you might think he's just a weirdo who is just thinking too much, but because of that question, he discovered the speed of light.
Another example is in the movie The Parent Trap. When Haley and Annie meet at the summer camp, Haley comes up with the idea of switching places after they told each other about what London and California were like. Both of them wanted to know what each parent was like since they only grew up with one.
Although our thoughts can lead to discoveries or food decisions, there are three sides of the story; the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good is the discoveries in this case, the bad is how it can lead to self-doubt and giving up. The ugly, however, is the result of the bad or the result of the good if you thought it was a good idea, but ended up being bad in the end.
For example, I went to a weekend retreat when I was a sophomore in high school. I went a few times after that, but on my third time, I wrote a poem (which I have referenced in my previous articles) that I was super proud of. I wanted a chance to share it. Before I went on stage, I was nervous (as anyone is before public speaking), but I had a last minute thought of not going up there and simply giving up on the opportunity.
My voice was shaking and the room was completely silent. It turned out to be a huge success. The day after, and even right after the performance, I had people coming up to me saying how brave I was, how proud they are of me for taking a 'risk'. My thoughts didn't doubt me that time.
When there was success, there had to be bad moments as well, that might or might not have turned ugly. As an introvert [slowly coming out of their shell], I still have a hard time talking to new people. I've always had a hard time, since around the 5th grade. My thoughts say, "No, it's okay, they'll talk to you. You don't have to say hi, just sit back and relax.'' But, I found some of my best friends that I've had for 2-6 years because I made an effort to talk to them and started with a simple hello.
It's okay to struggle at first and grow as a person, whether that's in communication or in different aspects of life. But, I want it to be a personal goal [and a goal for everyone else] to make it their personal accomplishment to not let their thoughts get in the way of things, if it's deciding on joining the speech team, performing a poem, or to talk to someone new. You find out it's really beautiful when you don't let your thoughts stray away and doubt yourself. Our brain is a beautiful, mysterious part of us, and it's important to take care of it, but as well not throw us down.
