Can I force my brain to delete a thought?

Before I begin to answer this question, do you know how many thoughts float in your mind on a daily basis?

According to research, an average human being has around 60 THOUSAND thoughts in a single day. Out of this, 75% are negative thoughts. But, that’s something for another day.

What is really interesting, is that 99.99% of your thoughts are not your own. They’re planted by external agencies. You are constantly consuming content. And everything is leaving an imprint on your subconscious mind, which then shapes your mindset. Ads. YT videos. Instagram reels. Movies. Books. Conversations with people. Podcasts. Your mindset, changes everyday.

Someone said in a video that Paris is the most romantic city in the world. And your mind believed it. Someone then asks you what you think is the most romantic city in this world — Well, Paris isn’t it?

You’ve never been there in person. But, someone implanted this thought in your mind. And so you’re implanting this thought in other people’s mind. The chain continues.

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How is a thought generated?

Thoughts are generated through triggers. Triggers can be internal or external. And one thought triggers another thought, it works like a chain reaction. A train of thoughts to be precise.

Let’s say you’re watching a video of a travel blogger. This person has recently visited the Bahamas. Blue serene waters. Clear sky. Surrounded by beautiful people. Amazing watersports.

This is how the train of thoughts could look like in your mind:

T1: Wow, what a beautiful island. I love how blue the ocean is.

T2: Damn, wish I could be there. Everyone looks so happy. I love beaches.

T3: It’s been so long since I took a break. Actually, I don’t get any breaks. What kind of a job am I doing?

T4: Will I ever be able to achieve this? Like Bahamas is quite expensive, will I be able to make enough money to afford such a trip?

T5: What can I do to make more money? Why does it feel like I am stuck?

T6: Why am I not progressing in my life? What can I do better? What is wrong with me?

T7: Probably should’ve worked harder. Taken bolder decisions. Stood up to the boss in that quarterly meeting.

T8: Oh damn, the quarterly meeting. I need to prepare that presentation. I’m screwed. Let me get back to work.

You’ve had 8 thoughts in a matter of seconds, and you’re completely unaware of it. It is happening effortlessly in the background. It is happening subconsciously. Which is WHY — what you feed your mind daily is SO important.

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Can you delete a thought?

I think you already know the answer to that question. Your mind is not capable of deleting anything. You cannot forget anything. Yes, that’s right.

YOU CANNOT FORGET ANYTHING.

If I were to hypnotize you right now and ask you about every single thing that has happened in your life, you’ll have no problem remembering. You just can’t recall everything. We can only recall those things on which we pay significant attention towards.

You remember every single thought you’ve had in your mind. You remember all the events that have transpired in your life. All the people you’ve met. All the places you’ve visited. But, at any given moment — you can only recall what really matters to you.

And what matters to you keeps changing. So your ability to recall something also might change with time. You’d remember that first date that you had with your first girlfriend for a very long time, until you’re dating someone else and you don’t allocate the same importance to that memory.

Therefore, if you DON’T want to recall something — allocate your consciousness somewhere else. Create new memories. With time, the memories that don’t matter to you anymore will sink beneath the surface of your subconscious.

You’ll feel like you’ve completely forgotten about it, until you see something that triggers that memory. And then it resurfaces again.

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I write about the stock markets, but I also occasionally dive into how the mind works — especially the subconscious mind. If you’re interested in either of the topics, you can subscribe to this blog!