🧠 I’m Not My Thoughts: The Freedom You’ve Been Searching For

“I’m such a failure.”

“They don’t really care about me.”

“What if everything goes wrong?”

We all have thoughts like these.

But what if I told you… You are not your thoughts?

It sounds simple, almost too simple. But this truth is at the core of mental peace and emotional freedom. And once you get it, not just intellectually, but in your bones, life becomes quieter. Brighter. Lighter.

☁️ Your Thoughts Are Clouds

Imagine your mind as the sky.

Your thoughts? Just clouds floating through.

Some are dark and stormy. Some are fluffy and harmless. Some pass quickly; others seem to linger.

But no matter how intense or persistent a cloud is…

you are not the cloud.

You are the sky.

You are the awareness that sees the thoughts—not the thoughts themselves.

🌀 Your Mind Isn’t the Enemy—It’s Just Chatty

The brain’s job is to think. Constantly.

It throws up ideas, fears, memories, warnings, helpful or not.

But here’s the thing:

You are the one listening to your thoughts. You are not the one speaking.

Most of the time, thoughts come from habit, conditioning, or old wounds. But they aren’t necessarily true. Just because your mind says “I’m not good enough” doesn’t make it a fact. It just means… You had a thought.

🧘‍♂️ Mindfulness Shift: From Actor to Observer

In therapy models like ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and in mindfulness practice, we learn something powerful:

Thoughts don’t control us unless we believe them.

Instead of “I’m going to fail,” try saying:

“I’m having the thought that I’m going to fail.”

That’s called cognitive defusion, you separate from the thought and stop identifying with it.

Now you’re not drowning in the storm, you’re watching the clouds from above.

🛠️ Try These Mental Tricks

To reclaim your peace, try these:

🌿 Name the voice: “There’s my inner critic again.”

🌿 Visualize the thought as a leaf drifting down a stream, or a passing cloud.

🌿 Say it in a silly voice: Yes really. Try saying your anxious thought in a cartoon character’s voice, it instantly breaks the spell.

❤️ From the Racetrack to Real Life

Whether I’m helping a patient, prepping for a race, or wrestling with self-doubt, this shift has saved me.

Next time your thoughts spiral, pause and say:

“That’s just my mind doing its thing.”

“I see you, cloud. You’re allowed to pass.”

And just like that… you’re free again.

🌈 Final Words

You are not your worries.

Not your regrets.

Not even your loudest, harshest thought.

You are the calm, vast sky behind it all.

Always watching. Always whole.

Let the clouds come.

Let them go.

You, beautiful soul—You remain.

🐅 Freedom or Functioning? The Psychology of Invisible Cages

A Tiger Fell into a Pit…

In Kerala, a tiger fell into a pit while chasing a dog. Strangely, once trapped, it didn’t attack. It didn’t even move much.

Instead of pouncing, the tiger sat quietly, disoriented, fearful, focused solely on escape.

Wildlife experts noted that its survival instinct didn’t drive it to eat. It drove it to flee.

And in that moment, that tiger became all of us.

🧠 Invisible Cages: The Human Condition

Humans don’t fall into pits — We build them.

We call them mortgages, marriages, career tracks.

We decorate them with throw pillows and reward points.

We call it success.

But often, they are cages built not by oppressors, but by our own fear of being free.

🧭 Viktor Frankl: Meaning in Constraint

Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, who survived Nazi concentration camps, wrote in Man’s Search for Meaning:

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”

Frankl didn’t define freedom as escape.

He defined it as inner agency.

Even in bondage, we can choose meaning.

But for those of us in the modern world, the question becomes:

Are we choosing our life — or simply accepting it by default?

🧱 Erich Fromm: Why We Flee from Freedom

In The Fear of Freedom, Erich Fromm warned that modern people often run away from real freedom.

“Modern man still is anxious and tempted to surrender his freedom to dictators of all kinds, or to lose it by transforming himself into a small cog in the machine.”

We want safety.

We want structure.

But in that process, we surrender ourselves, not to villains, but to systems.

Systems that ask for obedience, not authenticity.

🌱 Positive Psychology: The Case for Flourishing

Positive Psychology, pioneered by Martin Seligman and others, teaches us that freedom isn’t the absence of suffering.

It’s the presence of meaning.

A flourishing life includes:

• Autonomy – doing what matters to you

• Mastery – growing your strengths

• Connection – authentic, life-giving relationships

• Purpose – being part of something bigger

These elements can’t thrive in cages.

🔓 From Pit to Path

Maybe the tiger didn’t attack because it knew:

this wasn’t the jungle anymore.

This was survival.

Not dominance. Not desire. Just escape.

So…

Have you ever looked at your life and realized you’re in a beautifully decorated cage?

Have you traded vitality for comfort?

Have you called it responsibility, when really it’s just fear in disguise?

💬 Let’s Talk

This isn’t a call to abandon everything.

It’s a call to re-examine everything.

You can be responsible and free.

You can love without losing yourself.

You can work without wilting.

Start with one honest question:

What would freedom feel like for me?

Drop your thoughts in the comments below.

Let’s talk about the cages we didn’t know we were in, and how to build lives that don’t just function, but flourish. 🌿🐅

🧠 The High That Fades: Why We Want Things We Don’t Really Need (And How CBT Can Save You Thousands)

💭 That Feeling…

You see it. You want it.

You imagine how life will change once it’s yours.

You buy it.

And then…

You wonder why you ever needed it at all.

This isn’t just you—it’s nearly everyone.

Welcome to post-purchase regret, a psychological loop driven by your brain’s reward system. And if we don’t become aware of it, it can lead to financial stress, cluttered lives, and emotional dissatisfaction.

🧪 The Psychology of Wanting

🔁 1. The Hedonic Treadmill

We adapt fast. What once thrilled us becomes background noise. That dopamine hit fades, and we chase the next “fix.”

⚡ 2. Dopamine Loves the Chase

Desire feels good because it fires up dopamine. But dopamine isn’t about having—it’s about wanting. That means once you get it, the buzz fades quickly.

🪞 3. The Fantasy Fallacy

Many purchases are loaded with unconscious hopes:

“This will make me feel confident.”

“This will make me happy.”

“This will make others see me differently.”

But when reality doesn’t match fantasy? Hello, emptiness.

🛠️ CBT: A Tool to Escape the Regret Loop

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) helps us identify distorted thinking and replace it with clarity. Here’s a simple 4-step method you can start using today:

✳️

Step 1: Catch the Thought

Notice your internal monologue:

“I need this.”

“This deal is too good to miss.”

Pause. Ask: Is this a fact… or a feeling?

✳️

Step 2: Challenge the Thought

• What’s the evidence it’ll improve my life?

• Have I felt this before? What happened then?

• Am I bored, stressed, or lonely?

✳️

Step 3: Reframe It

From: “This will change everything.”

To: “This might feel exciting now, but it might not matter in a week.”

✳️

Step 4: Delay the Decision

Give yourself 48 hours.

Ask yourself:

• If I already had this, would I buy it again?

• Could this money be used for something deeper or more lasting?

  
  

🧘‍♀️ Try This Quick Thought Experiment

Visualize this item already in your possession.

Now ask:

“Would I still want this today, or is it just the chase?”

That one question can save you thousands—and give you back your peace of mind.

💬 Final Thoughts

You don’t have to live with regret or guilt around your purchases.

You just need awareness, intention, and a little CBT.

Desire isn’t the enemy—impulsivity is.

✨ Because the real upgrade isn’t in your cart.

It’s in your clarity.

📢 Share This Post

If you found this helpful, chances are someone you love is stuck in the same loop.

Share this blog post to help friends or family make more mindful, regret-free decisions.

Together, we can create a smarter, more conscious world—one purchase at a time 💛