Lightbulb representing idea generation

Our thoughts are everything.  As Shakespeare once said, “There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.”  Neuroscientist Sam Harris mentioned in his Waking Up app that thoughts are embedded in everything.  In the construction of our walls, the recipes on our tables, the engines in our cars, the fashion on our bodies, the programs in our classrooms.  Someone thought it up and took action to make it happen.  

People no smarter than you and I did those things.  It’s not about IQ, it’s about action and perseverance and never giving up.  Fueling those thoughts.

Edison’s factory burned to the ground costing a million dollars at the time (more like $23 million in today’s money) and he went on to discover many more things and formalize many more patents.  His thoughts were not burned in the fire.

Engineer, physician, author and entrepreneur Peter Diamandis said, “The day before something is a breakthrough, it’s a crazy idea.”

A crazy thought.  Something that will never work.  Something that’s impossible.  

So do we give up when others tell us we are wasting our time?  Or do we soldier on?  Carrying our thoughts in our minds and hearts, sharing them with others, taking action, getting up when we fall?

Thoughts bridge the space between pain and suffering.  How bad things are depends on how bad we think they are.

As we close out the decade, may we remember to notice our thoughts.  May we take action on the positive ones and dismiss the negative ones.  May we believe in ourselves beyond reason.  And may we think that absolutely anything is possible.

Author(s)

  • Siobhan Kelleher Kukolic

    Mother-of-three. Freelance writer. Author. #HuffPost blogger. Believer in dreams. www.siobhankukolic.com

    Siobhan Kukolic is a storyteller at heart. She writes to inspire the belief that we have all we need to be the change we wish to see. She recently published her first book, available on Amazon and Indigo. The Treasure You Seek is about following your heart, believing in yourself beyond reason, embracing failure and knowing that you are enough. It includes inspirational stories about famous failures, cultural icons, world leaders and regular folks like you and me. The goal is to remind us that we have all we need to be the change we wish to see. A perfect read for graduates from elementary school through university, people starting their career, changing jobs or retiring, friends going through a medical crisis, new parents, empty nesters and anyone who wants to be inspired. She started her career as a copywriter working on campaigns for organizations including Esso, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Grand & Toy, Labatt, and SC Johnson. While raising her kids, she volunteered as co-chair of her school council for seven years, helped get eight 20-foot maples donated for an eco-classroom and co-ordinated the building of a school peace garden with 115 donated trees and shrubs for Earth Day. She co-founded a not-for-profit movement called Blueberry Shark, named after a healthy fruit and the only animal that doesn't get cancer, with a mission to create the healthiest kids in the world. By providing a voice for those who didn't have one, she rallied enough media attention to help crowd-fund $105,000 in two weeks to pay for an unfunded drug for a mother of two dying of stage-four brain cancer. She also used media attention to nudge the government to change drug coverage policy right before an election and get a $360,000 a year drug covered for a 12-year-old cystic fibrosis patient. Her letters to the editor are frequently published in the National Post and she has represented her neighbourhood by making deputations at city council and the school board. She spends her time blogging, speaking to students and corporations about grit, and juggling the schedules of her three kids as they follow their dreams in competitive Irish dance and ice hockey. www.siobhankukolic.com