Are you running your mind, or is your mind running you? In this episode of The Daily Mastermind, George Wright III digs into one of the most requested topics he covers: how to manage your thoughts. Drawing on insights from *Managing Thought* by Mary J. Lore, George walks through three powerful keys that can shift your thinking, change your results, and help you reclaim your sense of purpose.
The episode comes at a time when many people are spending more hours inside their own heads than ever before. Whether it is stress, uncertainty, or just the relentless pace of modern life, unmanaged thinking quietly shapes your outcomes every single day.
Why You Are Not Your Mind
One of the foundational ideas George introduces is this: you are not your mind. Your brain is a tool. It observes, senses, stores, and retrieves information. But most people never step back to examine what that tool is actually doing. They let it run on autopilot.
The Buddha said, "We are what we think. All that we are arises from our thoughts. And with our thoughts, we remake the world."
This is not abstract philosophy. It is a direct call to take ownership of your inner life. The moment you recognize that your mind is a tool you can direct, rather than a force that controls you, everything changes.
What Happens When Thinking Runs Unchecked
Eckhart Tolle describes compulsive, unmanaged thinking this way:
"Thinking has become a disease. It's not so much that you're using your mind wrong. You actually don't use it at all. It uses you. That is the disease."
George echoes this in his own experience. Humans generate somewhere between 60,000 and 100,000 thoughts per day. When those thoughts pile up without direction, creativity disappears and productivity collapses. The solution is counterintuitive: stop, take a break, go for a walk, meditate, or exercise. Slowing your mind down is not a luxury; it is a strategy.
Key 1: Build Self-Awareness
The first key George outlines is self-awareness. When you become aware of your thoughts, you literally shift your brain's activity from a reactive state to the frontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for creating solutions. That shift happens the moment you pause and notice.
The practice is simple but not easy: just notice your thoughts. What are you thinking about right now? Where is your mind going? Many mindfulness practices center on exactly this. The more aware you become, the more empowered you are to redirect your thinking before it derails you.
Key 2: Develop Self-Mastery
Awareness is the foundation, but self-mastery is what you build on top of it. Self-mastery means you are not at the mercy of every fear, doubt, or worry that surfaces. You can observe a thought without being consumed by it.
George draws on the pruning tree metaphor from Mary J. Lore's book: to grow a strong tree, you start with purpose, prune consistently, and cultivate it every day. T. Harv Eker makes a similar point when he says "the roots create the fruits." Your inner life, your thoughts, beliefs, and mental habits, are the roots that produce everything visible in your results.
Key 3: Live On Purpose
The third key is living on purpose. When you are moving in alignment with your values and direction, your feelings reflect that alignment. And when your thoughts trigger difficult emotions, that is useful information. Those emotions are not enemies; they are indicators that something is out of alignment.
George points out the difference between reactive and proactive thinking. Proactive thinking starts with inspiration: happiness, gratitude, vision, a sense of possibility. That inspired state is what drives the thoughts and beliefs that lead to real results. Positive affirmations and declarations are not just wishful thinking; they are practical tools for shifting from weak, fearful thought patterns to powerful, productive ones.
"I am successful" is more powerful than "I want to be successful." Present-tense language anchors you in the now, and the now is the only reality that exists.
How to Use Your Emotions as a Management Tool
Your feelings and your thoughts are connected, but you are neither of them. George encourages you to let emotions run their course while also recognizing that you can deal with them far better when you are not in a fully reactive state. Step back, analyze what you are feeling, and use that information to make a conscious choice about where to direct your focus.
Strong positive emotions, like love, gratitude, and forgiveness, are catalysts for creativity and inspired action. They are more powerful than anger, resentment, or blame. Training yourself to shift toward those states, through affirmations, declarations, or simply pausing and choosing, is part of the daily cultivation that self-mastery requires.
Action Steps
- Notice your thoughts throughout the day without judging them. Simply ask: what am I thinking right now?
- When you feel overwhelmed or creatively stuck, stop and take a physical break. Walk, breathe, or move before trying to force a solution.
- Practice present-tense affirmations. Replace "I want to be" and "I should be" with "I am" and "I choose to be."
- Use negative emotions as indicators rather than obstacles. When something feels off, ask what belief or thought is driving that feeling.
- Pick up a copy of *Managing Thought* by Mary J. Lore to go deeper into the processes George covers here.
Managing your thoughts is not a topic reserved for people who follow personal development. Every person who wants a happier, more fulfilled life needs to consciously work on what goes on inside their head. Start today, stay consistent, and watch what becomes possible. It's never too late to start living the life you were meant to live.
