Last post, I quoted Tom Ziglar who wrote: “What you feed your mind determines your appetite.”
I interpreted this as determining in advance what we desire our mind to crave and feeding it accordingly, comparing it to the famous saying:
“Action precedes feeling.”
Linda RyanLinda Ryan, a Success Coach who specializes in the power of the mind wrote:
“I think I may be about to disagree with you, Bob. I think feeling and action go hand-in-hand, yet I think feeling comes first. In terms of ‘priming the pump’ I want to get the good thoughts and feelings primed and then I take action. Whaddaya think?”
I responded: “Linda, I think that ‘thought’ comes first because, as human beings, we cannot intentionally act on something we have not first thought. However, not only do we not have to wait to feel a certain way before acting on it, it is often counterproductive to do so.
For example, if I waited to write until I felt like it, I’d rarely write. And, if I waited to work out until I felt like it, I’d NEVER work out.
On the other hand, once I act on something and get into the rhythm of it, I often find myself getting into the flow and enjoying it. (Well, not so much with working out, but definitely with writing and most other things.) 😉
Tom Ziglar than responded:
“I remember when I was a boy and I didn’t want to work out because I didn’t feel like it. Dad encouraged me to ‘just do it’ and wouldn’t you know after about 10 minutes of doing it I felt like doing it. It’s like the question about singing in the shower – ‘Do we sing because we are happy, or are we happy because we sing?’ The answer is…..Both!
“The key in all of this is to decide in advance the thought you want to have, and then follow through with the action that the thought requires you to take even when you don’t feel like it.”
I love it. Thank you, Linda and Tom for your very insightful thoughts and comments…and the action you took to share them with us! 🙂
Of course, I hope you feel glad that you did! 😉
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GREAT article as usual Bob! Thank’s!!!!!
The “Idea” or “thought” comes first – always!!!!!! – THEN feelings and thoughts born out of that origional thought comes roling in – but often this happens SO quick, that it can be difficult to follow what came first!
SO if one think “The feeling” was the first to arrive – You missed the origional Idea or Thought.
Huge hugs from
Your Danish Connection 🙂
Lene
Lene: Thank you, my awesome Danish Connection! While feelings occur after thoughts, it might not be the “good feeling” that motivates us to take action. That’s why, if our thought tells us we need to do something, we do it whether or not we “feel” like it. And, then, from doing it, the feeling hopefully follows. Thank you, as always, for being part of our conversation!
It’s a GREAT pleasure to be able to take part Bob – SO exciting subject!!!! Communication always is – as EVERYTHING is communication – that again is energy – and energy “carries” energy. The “SAME” thought or idea never is the same at the recipient though – because of the state of mind is different in every single person, and that again never is exactly the same as everything changes all the time – LOL – Did this make sence – it does to me 😀 Anyway – YOU are absolutely right – the feelings that follow is the one that makes us take action or not! Fortunately we can learn to control that, and the better shape we are in – the feelings doesn’t control us, but us controlling the feelings and actions – TOO MUCH THINKING after an idea might kill any action for a person – then my advice would be – don’t think – just do it!!!! LOL
Lene: Made a LOT of sense!! 🙂 🙂
😀
There’s some great dialog here. Thank you. It has been my experience that thought is the cause and experience the effect. If you are not getting the results or effect that you are seeking, the seemingly obvious remedy is to change the thought, feeling or cause. It is much easier to write these things down than it is to apply them practically into my own life. I have also found without a doubt that action sometimes changes my thinking. Bring the body and the mind will follow. Move a muscle, change a thought. I’m not sure we can pin this down as feelings are not facts. Feelings make us human and seem to not be right or wrong.
Todd: Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. I appreciate ya’, my friend!
Agreed it is a Both AND… And depending on what Archtype of How You Learn, Do etc.. for some Feeling does come first and for some Thinking comes first however in the End it is a blend of the both and…
Fabulous discussion which makes me refer back to Solomon who wrote in Proverbs 23:7, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” James Allen took that to a whole new level in 1902 where he drove the idea that all things begin with thought. All things includes our health, our character, our actions. Now if a man thinks in his heart, it seems to me that the thought comes first, then the emotion. The fact that these two things happen virtually simultaneously does not mean thought was not first. Another example may be when a sales person presents a product that fills the prospect’s need, but the prospect doesn’t buy. Why? The prospect knows from calculating (thought) about the need, but doesn’t feel the pain (emotion) to buy (action).
Love this discussion Bob; Love Tom and the awesome Ziglar family; and now I love Linda and Lene who have such good insights.
Carly: Thank you for your thoughts, and for being part of our conversation. Appreciate ya’!
Brian: Thank you. Yep, I love all of them, as well! 🙂 Thanks for sharing with us!
Bob,
I agree with you about thinking coming first
A thought on the subject. I participated in team sports pretty much my entire life and all team sports include practices. I cannot count the number of times I went to practice not wanting to be there and prepared to just go through the motions. By the end of practice I was into it and feeling it.
Action precedes the feeling.
Or as I have always taught – Think Do Feel Be Have.
We have to first think about what you want to achieve.
Then take action regardless of how we feel. As Nike has shown us, Just DO It.
Taking action will help you get in the mood, to Feel the way you want.
Taking action will also help you to BE the person you want to be. There is no other way to get there.
Finally you will HAVE the fruits of your actions, you will reach the goals you have set out to achieve.
Richard Burns
Richard: Right on, my friend. Excellent. Thank you for sharing with us!
Wow, what an honor to be referenced in your post AND to be referenced alongside Tom Ziglar! Thank you sir! In thinking this through (and through!) AND reading all the great comments, I think perhaps we are saying the same thing? I was taught by Bob Proctor and now I teach
1. Thoughts
2. Feelings
3. Actions…in that order
So when you said “Actions precede feeling”, I disagreed. Many times, we DO take action, when we’re not “feeling” good about it and our results correlate with that feeling or vibration. HOWEVER… as several have indicated, when it comes to working out, like you, I would probably NEVER work out, if I waited till I “felt like it”. Yet if I take the action, that action of working out almost always makes me feel better.
So now, I may be disagreeing with myself! Oh, I love this post! AND Brian Kennedy! 🙂
Linda: the honor is MINE for being able to feature both you and Tom. The two of you brought great wisdom to our family of readers. And, I loved their comments, too. Amazing, the talent in this community, isn’t it?
Yes, indeed the normal process is thoughts, feelings, action. it’s just that – as you alluded to – there are times when, if our feelings don’t inspire the necessary action, we need to do the action *anyway* which then often lead to those feelings.
I don’t think I ever get tired of learning about these things. 🙂
Thanks again for being such a valuable part of this community! (And, yes, Brian Kennedy also Rocks!)
Richard, I played basketball longer than my body should have been playing. I enjoyed what you wrote. Another perspective on whether thought got you to practice or emotion, I share with you that I too remember many days in college when I didn’t feel like going to practice. My thought said I didn’t feel like going. Then my thought reminded me that one of the things I desired was to be good at basketball on the collegiate level. It was my thought that reminded me of my desire that got me to walk in the cold to get to the gym and start practice. Yes, I felt better once we got going, but it was my desire to be good that got me to move.
Bob and Linda, thanks for the kind words. 🙂 Please let me know how I can be of service to you.
Oh boy – we’re in my excitement zone here. Why do we what we do, how we change what we do… Science aside, I just love to observe and hear what other people have observed.
So here’s what I think now (subject to change with further observation.)
Perhaps it’s odd, but in these examples I equate feelings with actions. (there is a difference between mood – which I think of as “state of mind” and emotions which I think of as “state of heart.” So “I feel like working out ” vs “I feel love.” Desire comes not from state of mind – but from state of heart.)
But both state of mind and action of body are inspired by THOUGHT. They’re reactions, impulses, programmed responses to what runs through our minds. We can follow our first impulse, or we can override it. We have that choice. We can NOTICE the thought that inspired that impulse and reframe, rephrase, repurpose and redirect it. And when the thought changes, so will our immediate reaction to it. But DESIRE, and our awareness of desire, our connection to desire… that is the path to reprogramming both the thought and the impulse that follows.
AND you can reprogram from either direction – by making different state of mind choices, or making different state of body choices. EITHER will provide feedback to alter the way we think. So by continually making the decision to do something that ultimately feeds our desire – even when we aren’t in the mood and our initial thought creates a state of mind that dreads the effort – we change how that thought originates. We say “I want to work out because it makes me feel so much better” instead of “I have to work out because otherwise I won’t be healthy.”
But your current thought and impulsive response has been created through a lot of repetition – so for the change to be effective and permanent you’ll have to do it… maybe more than once 🙂
Not just “I think, therefore I am…” but “I think – therefore I am what I think.”
Or something like that…
WOW – what a GREAT Mastermind Community to learn from here – BOB YOU REALLY HAVE CREATED SOMETHING UNIQUE HERE – LOVE to you all – Thank’s 🙂
Dixie: Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. As always, very thought-provoking!
Lene: And I’m honored that you are part of this great Mastermind Community. I love learning from you!
Always Great Comments and Food for Thought… and Dixie hit on a Big one… and This topic is an Endless Conversation LOL… Back to what Dixie said and the Unconscious Mind… Example: Think of Someone who has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder they are typically Reacting from an Unconscious Feeling – Now once they get help and have learned the triggers and get some tools they can then once they FEEL the Trigger OVER ride the Old Reaction to the trigger. And.. If You really get into the Study of Psychology, NLP, Hypno etc… Some would say that the people that are more analytical and THINKERS tend to Think first and then Act and if You are dealing with More Creative Types they tend to Feel and then Act from what they are feeling… However at the end of the day no matter how many times we SLICE Thought – Feeling most of the time they are Weaved into One… Who is Right ? All based on our own perspective of the Universe, Matter, Thought, Consciousness, Theology, Psychology, Beliefs and more… Great Conversation… Great topic…
Carly: Thank you. I always appreciate you and what you add to the conversation!
Great post Bob. And you are right. Most of us have to think about doing something before acting on it (something we know is good for us however mentally we fight it). However the more we think about it, the more anxious we become, and that can lead to some procrastination. It is best to get into the habit of doing something as soon as we come up with an idea so we feel better in the end that we had done it. Whether it is working out, cleaning up your closet or something you know you must do however just don’t feel like it…it is best to get into the habit of doing it before thinking too much about it 🙂
Miriam: Thank you for joining the conversation. Much appreciated. Yes, the thought (by definition) comes first and then I believe that when you use the word “think” during your note you are referring to “feeling.” Is that correct? In other words, needing to do it despite how we are feeling (or, not feeling) 🙂 about doing it. Thank you again for joining us, and for sharing your wisdom with us!
Hello, everyone! And thanks for such a great topic, Bob! The topic of human mind Is my favorite, for a good reason – everyone Is always right! It did take me over 40 years to figure that one out and now, of course, I can never be wrong, can I? I’ll try to be as brief as I can: many years ago Descartes made a statement: “I think, therefore I am”. The significance and depth of such statement is amazing, it essentially defines “I” along with conditions for its existence. Logically it would imply: “in order for I to exist, I needs to think”… Many years have passed since that statement, and I believe we can broaden the meaning of that statement, where I is a state of awareness. Pure awareness is not yet thinking, it is perception of the world just as newborn would perceive it: light, sound, taste… all the feelings… When the baby is born the slate is clean, We Are the Ones teaching him/her to think, giving them labels, defining their lives (it is very easy, isn’t it? They don’t have a choice! Except for when to keep us awake ). So there we are, at the beginning of it all, most of the information is processed via brain-stem… interaction with humans develops cerebral cortex… until we find ourselves here, pondering what we are and what we could’ve been Our mind is a super-efficient tool. It is and it does what it believes in. It is frankly quite amazing! What I find even More Amazing, is that We Can Reprogram our Minds!
Sergey: Thank you for joining the conversation. Always appreciate your comments. I enjoyed and appreciated all you said. My one area of respectful disagreement is where you say that “everyone is always right!” I’d say that “everyone *believes* they are right” based on their belief systems that came about due to much of what you mentioned after that. However, as (I believe) Moynihan said (paraphrased), “we are all entitled to our (beliefs and opinions), but not to our own facts. And, to quote Rand, “We can ignore reality, but we cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.” Again, my thanks for your excellent contribution to our discussion!
Thank you, Bob! And I completely agree with you! And it is such agreement, that allows for an authentically open dialog. Until now human values have been established by either philosophers from their caves, or by the majority. Now we have the rules of absolutes with all the shades of grey in between, so I am just stating obvious – Everyone is Right, and we know it! Now, lets look at the opposite – one person is right, another is wrong… The conflict arises from disagreement, causing disrespect and distrust of other person’s values. Please notice, it is the disagreement which is causes loss of trust and respect. We can say all we want: “I respectfully disagree!”, that is an oxymoron, for respect and trust go hand in hand, and disagreement is just a facade of a future fight! Disagreement is not acknowledgement of our individuality, values, worth. By disagreeing with others – we dismiss them. Now, imagine a room of thousands of people who met together Not with a premise that some are partially right, some are totally right, some are totally wrong… instead, those people Trust each other enough, Respect each other enough, and Know enough to say that, Hypothetically, they might All be Right! So the meeting is starting in Complete Harmony, everyone is equal, where it goes from there….. Thank you again, it is a pleasure! 🙂
Sergey: I love your attitude and wonderful spirit. I think we might need to respectfully agree to disagree in this case, in terms of much of what you wrote above. I don’t see disagreeing with someone’s opinion as needing to also involve any type of disrespect. And, while there are many areas in which people with different views can both be right…there are other areas in which both being right is an impossibility (at least, based on what we as humans can logically determine). Where you wrote:
“The conflict arises from disagreement, causing disrespect and distrust of other person’s values”
Why would disagreeing with someone necessarily cause me to disrespect them as a person, and why would it necessarily cause me to think any less of their values? I can believe that someone is wrong about a specific thing and that they are still be a good, kind, and value-based person. And, I certainly hope that person could think the same of me.
You wrote: “By disagreeing with others – we dismiss them.”
Why would that be? I don’t believe I “dismiss” anyone because I disagree with them. Rather, I believe I simply disagree with them.
There are other points as well that you and I also disagree on. And, I don’t dismiss you, or your motives. I assure you of that.
Thank YOU again. The pleasure is mine!
Thank you so much, Bob! I do not disagree with you at all! Your topic is so unbelievably great! I find that it really shines light for me, on my connection between feelings, thoughts and actions. I now realize, thanks to your clarifications, that I, personally, process information beginning with a feeling. I find a feeling of equilibrium, balance, then I put it in action… then I “dress” it all in words trying to convey my process to others…
That is how I have arrived at the conclusions regarding disagreements… I simply experimented with self and others…. by first telling someone that they are right, and seeing them relax, maybe smile, open up… Then, a little later I would tell them that they are wrong! What a difference in reaction! They tense up, putting their shields up, getting ready to defend themselves…
Maybe a good analogy would be – how humans resist to weather. We don’t just accept cold, rain, sun… We bring umbrellas, put the hats and gloves on… We disagree with the weather! When it want to get us wet, cold or hot – we hide… unless we are little kids 🙂 Are we missing out on some lessons that the nature is trying to teach us? Thank you so much!