Thoughts are Powerful

I started on a quilting project yesterday that has been on my “to do” list for almost two years. Relieved I was finally getting started, I pondered upon why it took me so long.

I remember when I decided to make the quilt in the first place. It was soon after our February 2020 Texas trip to visit family. I was inspired by my talented and industrious sister-in-law Amy and her beautiful homespun tapestries.  Back home on a Saturday outing to support local businesses, a friend and I ventured into a small family-owned quilt shop and browsed through the calicos and cottons. Filled with inspiration and confidence, I purchased materials for a wall hanging. Start small, I decided. I can do that.

When I sat down to begin the project a few months later, I realized I had loaned out my sewing machine to a friend. I could not quilt, I reasoned, without a sewing machine. So I stowed the material in the sewing basket alongside a few other unfinished projects for another day.

I really liked the quilt pattern and had carefully selected the coordinating fabrics. And I enjoyed making quilts in the past. My motivation was there. I had the want to. I needed my sewing machine.

I called my friend who, as it happened, was finished using the machine and promptly returned it.

Machine in tow, I’d have this quilt finished in no time. I smiled as I imagined it hanging on my family room wall.

Not so fast.

I ran into another barrier. The machine came back, but the bag with all the accoutrements, like the indispensable foot control pedal, did not.

I can’t sew without the pedal, I thought. And so I didn’t and the material sat untouched.

Several weeks went by. I had other sewing projects to do, hem my pants, fix a button, etc. Impatient thoughts needled me. I can’t sew without a pedal. I needed to get the pedal back from my friend. But I didn’t want to bug her again.

But I needed the pedal.

Finally, after lots of head chatter, I mustered up the mettle to call her.

She was quite certain she did not have it.

She did not have it. I did not have it. Now what?!

Two weeks ago, while I was cleaning around the basket where the quilt material lay gathering dust, a thought popped into my head.

Why don’t I just order another pedal? Now that was thinking outside the box. Good for me! Of course! I could simply buy another pedal. That was a reasonable solution. Why hadn’t I thought of that earlier?  The phone rang and poof! out went that thought right out of my brain as magically as it poofed in. The tyranny of the urgent crowded out the pain of the pedal’s absence. Innumerable other projects distracted me from doing what needed to happen to move forward with the quilt.

I woke up this last Saturday morning, making my usual running “to do” list in my mind. I had no particular agenda aside from my usual Saturday chores. Kenny was going to be gone a majority of the day. It was raining and overcast. How could I be productive with my time inside?

The quilt. Of course, I would start my quilt.  But I need a pedal. Argh. TODAY I WILL ORDER THE PEDAL. Determined, I marched upstairs to look at the make and model and order it from Amazon or directly from the company if need be.

Resolute and already proud of myself for taking the next step, at 5:30 in the morning no less, I pulled back the hard plastic machine cover with gusto to gather the necessary numbers to order up the missing piece of my puzzle. And what  do you suppose I saw first with  its cord wrapped and tucked neatly under the arm of the machine. THE PEDAL!!! The pedal was there all along!

Thoughts are powerful. Powerful enough to shape behavior.

My thought that I did not have the pedal shaped my behavior for almost two years! I don’t have a pedal. I can’t quilt. I had not even considered looking inside the machine cover for the pedal. I believed that it had to come back the way it was sent. These fixed beliefs affected me as if they were true. Fixed false beliefs kept me trapped, kept me from even looking, kept me from accomplishing my mission.

Now it’s really no big deal that I have not made the quilt. But what other areas of my life am I believing the thoughts that pop into my head and allowing them to strong arm me.

Thoughts pop in our heads all day long; many of them are negative and untrue.

The negative thoughts we hold onto are fairly common. And they are able to hold us back. See if you recognize any of these:

 I will always be a failure.

 I will never measure up.

I don’t need anybody’s help or support.

I hate vegetables.

I can’t cook.

I don’t have time for exercise.

And rather than judge ourselves and stay in a “blame/shame/stay the same game,” let’s be conscientious observers and get curious. Where did those thoughts come from? Why are they happening now? Are they true? What is the history? If it was true in the past, is it true now? Does that thought help me move forward?

This kind of investigational work, done with curiosity and compassion, can help us identify and change our thoughts.

Now that’s what I call “weigh different” thinking. If you are having trouble identifying the thoughts that are keeping you stuck, give us a call at Oregon Weight and Wellness. Our health coaches, Rachelle and Meghan are experts at helping people get curious with their thoughts.

Change your thinking. Change your behavior. Change. Your. Life.