How we think does have an impact on our behavior. We act according to our thoughts. A thought emerges in our mind, and we either decide to act upon it or not. The decision is ours. Our mind is full of thoughts.
Man is, after all, a thinking person. The moment he or she wakes up in the morning, he or she starts thinking. Thoughts can be harmful in nature as well as positive. In case they are positive, then the person behaves in a positive manner. If he or she is full of negativity, he or she will react negatively.
Thinking can reflect in a gazed look, blinking of the eyes, closing the eyes to express a particular emotion, and so on and so forth. If a person is in love, his or her eyes will reflect the emotion. His or her actions would also enact those feelings. If a thought of love arises in mind, the concerned person may stroke the hair of his beloved or kiss her. If a hateful or spiteful thought comes into the mind,, a person can also physically harm another person.
How does thinking affect behavior?
- A thought that emerges in our mind results in either inaction or action. We might act upon the thought, or perhaps not. Only if there is a thought, there is action. A blank mind causes inaction. As many people grow older, their pattern of thinking gets affected. Their thoughts become weak, and they become forgetful. Memory gets affected. As a result, you often find them unable to carry out a particular task. Dementia patients suffer from neurological changes in the brain and cannot remember things. They are unable to think.
- Creative thoughts lead to creativity in action. Musicians and painters think or visualize a particular scene and draw a picture or create a song. In other words, creative thought has to merge for them to place the image in mind on a piece of paper or in the form of a song.
- Fearful thoughts make us afraid. We see a snake and either thinks of killing it or running away from it. The fact is that thought tells us what we should do. A child, for example, is too small to think for himself or herself what to do. Adults have to decide for themselves or themselves. If a small child sees a snake, he or she may not react the same way an adult would. A baby may not react as the thought of the snake being something to be feared does not emerge .in his mind.
- Criminal acts are also based on thoughts. The hatred for a particular person may lead a person to physically harm him. The thought makes a person harm someone or kill him or her. The thought may be influenced by emotions and feelings, but nevertheless, it is a thought.
- Caring for someone and showing love is also based on thoughts. You remember someone and write a letter or send a greeting card.
- Psychologists have claimed that cognitive therapy solves many psychological problems. Thoughts make a person feels depressed or acts in a particular way. Positive thoughts keep the mind happy. Negative thoughts make a person feel low. Cognitive therapy is recommended as a treatment for many behavioral problems.
Our behavior is based on our thought processes. We behave according to what we think at a given time and place. Thoughts determine our actions.