Types of Thoughts

So we’ve been talking about TEA - Thoughts, Emotions, and Actions. 

Let’s look a little more at thoughts. 

We can categorize our thoughts into different types. 

For example automatic versus purposeful. 

Automatic thoughts just pop into our head, seemingly out of the blue. 

Othertimes our thoughts are purposeful - we choose to think them. 

Some thoughts are about the past, often referred to as memories.

Other thoughts are about the future - and we might have future-oriented thoughts related to planning or anticipating/predicting. 

Sometimes thoughts show up that are just fleeting, quickly passing by and they don’t influence us. 

Other thoughts stick in our mind and are difficult to get out or move on from. 

Some thoughts are concrete, images or pictures of things or people or places. 

Other thoughts are abstract, concepts or ideas. 

We can have thoughts that are optimistic: that’s maybe a type of future-oriented thought that also then contains an element of evaluation of something being good/positive/desirable/workable

Or we may have thoughts that are pessimistic: a type of future-oriented thought that contains an element of evaluation of the possible event being bad/negative/painful/undesirable/unworkable.

Finally, we can see that some thoughts are just loosely held ideas, while others are strongly held beliefs. 

The Thoughts of Adam and Eve?

Eve and Adam likely had many thoughts going through their minds in Genesis 3. 

The moment she heard and understood the serpent’s statement …

“You will surely not die” 

… it became a thought in her mind. 

In that moment, she then had a choice:

1. To believe the thought “You will surely not die”, or

2. To believe the thought “You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die” (This thought came from God, which she shared with the serpent according to verse 3). 

I wonder what other thoughts went through the minds of Eve and Adam in those moments. 

How did they reason through them?

Which thoughts did they choose to believe?

Surely there was a process of evaluating pros and cons, estimating likelihood of various outcomes?

Or was it rather impulsive without much thought?

(sometimes thoughts/emotions lead rather immediately to action; other times there is space in which we consider, evaluate, weigh options before taking action).  

We know Eve did have God’s instruction in her mind, and the consequence of not following it. 

But she ate anyway. 

Did she choose to stop believing what God had said, and chose instead to believe the serpent?

Or did she consider the food and wisdom so great that it was worth dying to obtain it? (believing God and believing that she would die, but accepting that consequence because the food and wisdom was just that good). 

However, believing a thought doesn’t have to be all or nothing. 

We might consider that initially she believed God 100% (eating = death with certainty), and that the serpent was so convincing that she did a complete 180 and then believed with 100% certainty that eating will absolutely not lead to death. 

Or maybe it wasn’t that dramatic, but rather going from 100% belief in the thought that eating = death to more of a 50/50 split.

Maybe she thought:

“Well, maybe the serpent is right or maybe not. I’m not 100% sure. It’s possible I could die, but possible I might not, so maybe I’ll take the chance and risk it”

Maybe she thought the wisdom and pleasure of the fruit was worth the risk (risk, rather than certainty of the consequence). 

What about Adam?

Genesis doesn’t tell us anything about his thoughts from the moment he saw what was happening: Eve offered him the fruit, and he ate. 

I’m curious what went through his mind in those moments. 

Did he know that the fruit she offered was the forbidden fruit?

Or did he watch the entire conversation between Eve and the serpent (and said nothing?!), and was just as convinced by the serpent as Eve was. 

How About Your Thoughts?

What do you notice in yourself?

What thoughts go through your mind?

Which ones do you believe, and how do they affect your emotions and your actions?

How does that work for your ultimate purposes?

How about this:

The verse of the day today in my Bible app is Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” 

The moment you read it and understand it, it becomes a thought in your mind.

Do you believe it?

If you believe it or you don’t believe it, how does that then affect your emotions and your actions? 

(Of course we could get into nuances of that verse, and beliefs about the various interpretations of verse, but we’ll save that for another time maybe). 

What other thoughts do you notice throughout your day that impact your emotions and actions?

Dr. Matt

www.drmattbridgman.com