The Growth of a Thought

In the book Your Mental Mess by Dr. Caroline Leaf she says, whatever we think about the most grows, because we are giving it energy. Now when she talks about the thought growing she means it literally grows in your brain. The parts of your brian that makes memories whether it be mental, emotional, or physical start to grow the memory like a tree. Since memories require energy tto grow bigger and stronger, the more you think about them the more they will grow and be solidified in your brian. The stronger they are the more they have an effect on you. How is this important to you? Well here is a real life example of one memory that bothers me. I once was driving on the highway and a car was entering from an on ramp. I slowed down to let them in, however they slowed down as well to let me by. I continued to slow down and so did the other person. This put me in a dangerous position since I was nearly stopped on the highway. I got pretty mad at the person for not just getting on the highway. Now why does this memory stick with me? Because I keep thinking of it and allowing it to grow. Every time I pass that on ramp I remember that time when I got so upset. I also randomly think about it without even driving by it. It brings back the feeling of being upset. This is both a mental memory as well as an emotional memory as well. I don’t want to let this memory pop up every once in a while because it’s a silly memory to think about and to let me get all worked up over. So one way I try to combat this memory is every time it pops up I need to remind myself that I was in the wrong in that situation. I had the right away and should have sped up a little. I think deep down I do know that I was wrong and I’m actually not mad at the person in the other car but mad at myself for making such a dangerous mistake. I haven’t read all of Dr. Leaf’s book yet but I believe she is going to explain that that’s exactly how you combat memories that have such a control over you. Whenever you start to have a thought, recognize it and think to yourself, do I really want this thought to be a strong moment in my life? Do you really want to give it the energy to grow in your brian and affect you down the road? If the answer is no, then try not to think about it. Or at least rationalize that it isn’t that important to you. It may not be easy at first but eventually you will get better at it.