Getting Off The Train of Thought

“Training your mind to be in the present moment is the number one key to making healthier choices.” - Susan Albers

Getting Off The Train of Thought

About 10 years ago I participated in a mindfulness course by Monash University, and the one idea that really stuck with me was, that our thoughts are like trains at the train station. They come and go and when you’re standing on the platform and see a train coming, YOU DON’T HAVE TO GET ON IT. It will leave the station soon enough.

They were trying to explain how to deal with all your thoughts when meditating, but I really love this idea as a reminder in my daily life, that you have more power than you think, over your mind. You can better navigate your thoughts when you’re more aware of them….

I really like this idea, and it taught me that my thoughts are linked to each other. When I board a train of thought, there will be more of the same kind of thoughts on it.

For example, if you’re judging someone in your thinking about something they did, more thoughts of that person come up, with all the other things they did or didn’t do. And maybe even thoughts about other people you’re judging…

That train of thought is probably going to take you to a place where you feel upset, and if you want to stop feeling upset about it, you can change the subject of your thoughts and get off that train.

The same train will come by again another time and you’ll get to choose, again, if to take it or not. Maybe then, you’ll have a different perspective, or maybe, you’ll be in such a good mood that you’ll feel more compassion than judgment that time.

At around the same time that I did this mindfulness course, we were looking for a new place to live because the house we were renting was going to get demolished and replaced by smaller units, like so many of the houses in that neighbourhood.

Back then, the worry train came past my station regularly on this subject, with so many good reasons to worry about. What if this and what if that….

I remember feeling very proud of myself for not getting on it! I knew it wasn’t productive for me to go there and that it would only make me feel anxious and stressed.

Instead, I would regularly get on the train of thought that was full of new possibilities, excitement and opportunities. It was a time for evaluating our needs and dreaming about what’s next for us.

It felt pretty good.

When you look at it this way, it really helps to feel more in control over your experience, and I can tell you without a speck of doubt, that I am feeling better for it and am attracting better options for myself. Simply by being aware of what I put my attention on and what I am staying clear from.

Can you recognise the trains of thought coming into your station?

It always makes me chuckle when I realise what’s happening in my mind and I go AHA! I see you train! I am not getting on this time ;-)