Want to guess?

100? 1,000? 10,000? or more?

How about between 12,000 and 80,000. Goodness knows how they counted them. Surely would be harder than counting sheep!

This is according to a National Science Foundation article that summarized some research in 2005.

Not only that but 80% are negative. How does that sit with you?

And 95% are the same thoughts we had the day before. We are on repeat!

There has been more recent research (2020) which used brain imaging scans over a short time and then multiplied the number to get a total for a day. This study came up with 6,200 thoughts a day. Even that is a huge number.

I find it hard to believe that I think that many thoughts during a day. I know that my thinking is pretty continuous but that many! Really?

How about you? How many thoughts do you think?

Those negative ones. The thoughts we would sooner do without – it’s a survival thing, mostly. There is a usefulness to them because they are making us alert to possible dangers. And in this more civilized world, the dangers are still constant though of a different nature to more primitive life. These days, the dangers are more likely to be connected to our unconscious patterns that we established when young. To do with people.

We all want to feel safe. And loved. And comfortable. The negative thoughts are often trying to keep us safe. To prepare for all outcomes. To avoid negative emotions. To not repeat the past. To rehearse the future.

Somewhere, deep inside us is an essential safety. We all have this. It’s deep inside.

It would be so nice to be aware of this at all times.

Is this something you would lke support to investigate?