Our thoughts are not real

Our own thoughts are not facts, thoughts are not real, they are just our own interpretation of a particular event.

Your thoughts are not real

There is a Hindu story that illustrates well that different people give different interpretations of the same phenomenon:

A king takes 6 men of Indostan with him to a room where it is so dark that they cannot see even to their noses. The king says to his men, this animal is from the Far East. It’s called an elephant. What is an elephant? – one of them asks. And the king answers: Touch the elephant and tell me what it is like.

The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
“God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!”

The Second, the tusk
Cried, “Ho! what have we here,
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me ’tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!”

…

The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope.
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
Is very like a rope!”

And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!

Your mind is imperfect

To begin with, this simple tale showcases the fact that individuals have a tendency to perceive the same occurrence differently due to their varying levels of knowledge and personal experiences. Moreover, there is a concept known as Interpretation bias, which highlights the flawed nature of our thought processes. This bias refers to a cognitive error that occurs when individuals misperceive a situation as a potential threat. For example, individuals with social anxiety are prone to perceiving ambiguous social situations in a negative light. Furthermore, our opinions and perceptions of a particular social event may be altered if we critically analyze our thoughts and question them.

You have control over your thoughts

The good news is that we are able to have control over our thoughts, and we can reevaluate them, which helps to reinterpret a stressful situation as well. If you practice questioning your own negative thoughts daily, your confidence and mood can change, and your point of view may change as well.

In conclusion, each of us has a unique perspective when it comes to evaluating situations. It is crucial to note that I am not implying that our thoughts and opinions are invalid or worthless, rather they are simply “not the truths” as there is no objective truth. Moreover, we have the ability to challenge and question our thoughts to determine whether our interpretation is accurate or not.