There is a difference between what you think you think, and what you actually think.

Nope, that is not a typo. Let’s clear it up with an example. I asked a person at work if he thought that money was the answer to happiness. His answer was fairly neutral answer. Something like “I don’t think money is the answer, but being poor definitely isn’t the answer to happiness either.” Seems like a fairly balanced view right? But having a look at his life, the truth is that his view of money is far from balanced. Money is all he ever talks about. He works till 12:00 almost every night. He has no relationship with his son, and his wife has left him. Though there might be many reasons for this, his son told me that his father was always at work. He has a massive house with no one in it.

He tries to appeal to me to work large amounts of over time with promises to earn massive amounts of money. He can’t understand why I don’t seem interested, because to him the mention of money should motivate me more than all else. The only reason he thinks like that, is because that’s how he thinks. If only he knew that the only way to motivate me would be to offer me more time with my wife.

So this doesn’t prove he is some money crazed evil person, because he definitely isn’t. All it proves is that there is a disconnect between what he says and what is actually going on deep inside his mind. He isn’t even aware of his inner most thoughts. He thinks that he thinks in a certain way, but his actions tell a different story.

Though you might not completely agree with this example I have used, I am sure you agree that there is often a disconnect between what someone says and what they do. Not because they are outright lying to deceive you, but because their inner thoughts are different to what they think their inner thoughts are.

It is vitally important to realise that we all do this, you are not free from this problem as if you are different to everyone else. We all do this all the time.

If you are going to change your life, you have to identify what your inner most beliefs are. This is not something you can find out by thinking about your opinions; it’s only possible to know what your inner most thoughts are by looking at your life pattern. It will give you a clearer view of how you actually think on the inside.

You probably grasp the principle of what I am saying, but you might find it hard to think of exact examples. I will give some examples later on in this blog.