When you learn something, like how to ride a bike, you are consciously engaged in the learning process. Every time you wobble or fall, you get back up and have another go.

The thrilling thought of being able to ride a bike, wild & free, is so exciting that you persevere through the sometimes challenging learning process.

After a few goes, you start to get the hang of riding your bike and build confidence in your new talents.

Fast forward 20 years and even though you haven’t ridden a bike for 5 years, you’re able to jump back on the saddle and whizz down the road.

You have an automatic thought process that tells your body how to ride a bike.

When you were learning, you were consciously engaged in learning this new habit.

Today, decades later, you’re able to access the habit on auto pilot. You don’t need to think about how, you just do.

Auto-thoughts aren’t bad, they’re necessary. But sometimes, if we don’t monitor our thoughts by journaling and paying attention to the thoughts running around our minds, they can sometimes be no longer needed. Or perhaps you mis-learned something that is now showing up in your life as a really annoying or awkward pattern that isn’t serving you.

It’s time to bring in some new conscious thoughts to replace those thoughts on auto-replay.

Just like when learning to ride your bike, a conscious thought is something you’re engaged with, you are very aware of what you’re thinking and why you’re thinking it. It’s making a choice to choose a thought in this moment. Choose a thought right now – think anything {…. your thought….}. You just had a conscious thought, as you made a decision to think it in this moment. Most of our other thousands of thoughts every day are automatic.

Affirmations are really positive conscious thoughts, with a motive to change a belief.

Home play

I challenge you to think a conscious thought once an hour today, to create something you choose in your life. Set a reminder, or write it on a sticky note. Challenge yourself to create, empower yourself to change! 

My conscious thought of the hour: “I’m going to have a joyful evening!”