There are many ways our thinking can get off course and lead us to the wrong conclusions.

There are many ways we limit and cage both ourselves and the people in our lives by harbouring and believing a lie or a misconception.

Sometimes, we hurt people by the things we have convinced ourselves of about them. And sometimes, it is ourselves that we hurt the most by believing the worst of the people in our lives.

The simple truth is that you could be wrong.

Maybe, you are mistaken.

It is possible that you’re looking at only one side of the coin.

Maybe, you don’t have all the necessary information to reach that sweeping conclusion.

So, it becomes necessary to understand that in most cases, there are no absolute truths. You must remind yourself that most of the time, there are no blacks nor whites. Most things are never they way they appear. There is almost always, more to the story.

You could have been mistaken.

The things you believe about yourself and others might be only half-truths.

You could have been wrong about a person’s motives or intent.

You possibly do not know the “before” and the “after”.

You could have been mistaken about the root cause of the problem.

You could have been misguided or misled.

You may have been overly optimistic or pessimistic.

You could have oversimplified or exaggerated the issues in your own mind.

Your personal bias or perspective could have clouded or coloured your thinking.

Therefore, you must find the time to make yourself sit back, take a deep breath, and really think about whether your reactions and conclusions are in response to something that is real or imagined.

Learn to be logical, and this can be very difficult when you are being emotional.

But, if you don’t do this, understand that you might make a blunder. You might make the wrong judgement. You might miss out on a whole lot if you never question yourself from time to time.

Challenge your basic assumptions and conclusions. Don’t think for one second that your conjectures have the final word.

Some of us find it very easy to doubt and question other people but we never extend the same courtesy to ourselves.

Remind yourself constantly that just thinking of something doesn’t mean its true, and remember that whatever you do think and believe to be true might end up working for or against you.

It is true that  our thoughts are incredibly powerful and can take control of our lives, for good, bad, or somewhere in between.

Sometimes our thoughts are positive and meaningful and are worth paying attention to. At other times our thoughts are easily empty noises that are occupying too much space in our brains. And sometimes, our thoughts become negative and distracting noises which are capable of debilitating and killing both our dreams and our valuable relationships.

It was Henry Ford who said that, “whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”

So, whatever you do or think, always remember that, we’re not always right. And remember that your thoughts can make or mar both you and your relationships.