We all think.

But do we consider the power of our thoughts? If you learn one law, one truth in your efforts to find happiness in this life, learn this:  what you think is what you feel.  Example: close your eyes and think about the scariest movie you’ve ever seen. Imagine the scene, imagine the terror. Really focus your thoughts on this, and you’ll start to feel something – fright. Now, let’s reset our thoughts. Imagine a person that makes you happy. Close your eyes, picture their face. Imagine them talking to you, smiling. Do this for 2-3 minutes. How do you feel? Probably quite a bit different than how you felt with the scary movie bouncing around in your head.

So, once we understand that thoughts become feelings, we can understand how to shape our emotions. How to tune out the bad and turn up the volume on The Good. There are many great exercises on Dr. Burns’, “The Feeling Good Handbook“, which is a terrific primer on cognitive therapy. Cognitive therapy throws Freudian analysis out on its ear by focusing on present thoughts rather than the events and circumstances one might have experienced in the past. I can’t say enough about how profound the lessons are in this book on learning happiness.