Think Before You Ink: Filtering Thoughts with Purpose

Today I picked up a pencil to write after a very long time. I remember in school, we used to use pencils to write and were introduced to pens only in the 5th standard to prepare us for the senior section. We were expected to get into the habit of not making silly mistakes while writing and this could have been achieved by making us use a pen because with a pencil, one can always erase their mistakes and continue writing without a mess.  Writing with a pen however, needed us to use much more focus and attention while writing since it was nearly impossible to erase and would usually lead to a mess if something had to be struck out. So, we were asked to be more mindful, being careful of thinking before writing anything in our clean white notebooks.

To draw an analogy, if our thoughts are written in pencil which may be erased easily on our will, our words and actions are etched in ink, very difficult and messy to erase if a mistake is made.

If I come to think of it, there are numerous thoughts that pass our mind during the day, maybe hundreds of thoughts passing by without us realizing it. It could be related to decisions we make, opinions about things we hear or see, or feelings of happiness, sorrow, love, anger, etc., We constantly have a narrative running in our head all the time, with hardly a moment of peace and quiet. While some thoughts make their way out in the world when we provide it with a medium of speech or action, some simply pass by without finding expression. 

Some people have a tendency to speak their hearts out, they are called an open-book, they have no filter and they say whatever comes to their head instantly.  While on the other end of the spectrum there are people who speak very less and more often than not, they are those people who are good listeners, quite observant, sometimes hesitant or low on confidence about what they have to say.

Where we live in a world that hails freedom of speech, not all thoughts that find expression are received well by others around us, it may be offensive to them, hurtful to their feelings or simply may not resonate with their identity or value system.

When we choose to be silent or speak over something, we should consider the repercussions of that decision. That being said, of course it is necessary to speak out or act against any cruelty or injustice that we see around us. But it is equally important to not hurt others with our right of expression. At times it may feel good to give others a piece of our mind and berate them for their mistakes for it gives us a sense of power over others, but this powerful feeling is short-lived and later we may regret being rude to someone or hurting them, usually our ego stops us from going back trying to salvage the situation but by then the damage is done. The popular words “silence is gold” holds more power in today’s time where we interact with each other more than ever before.

There are 5 things we can keep in mind in our interactions with others. Whenever we get ready to say or do something we should try to be mindful, maybe take a pause and THINK whether what we are going to say is True, whether it is Helpful, whether it Inspires others around us, whether it is absolutely Necessary to say it, and finally whether it is a Kind thing to say or do.

We can try not to lie simply to get out of a tough situation and we can also try to be truthful to ourselves. Further, if we consider being helpful or inspiring that would bring joy to others as well as ourselves. Also, keeping necessity as a parameter will help filter out any words or actions that may drain our energy but was not required to begin with. And finally, we should always try to be kind in our hearts and our expression to everyone around us. 

If we subject our thoughts to this filter of 5 questions, then we will be able to lead a life filled with a sense of contentment. t with a better chance of spreading love and happiness around us.  So next time a thought gets written in pencil in our mind, let’s try to pause and duly consider these 5 questions before expressing them in ink through our speech or actions.

(The Author is a CA professional)