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The Paradox of Thought: How to Think About Thinking
I recently stumbled across a striking quote in Joseph Nguyen’s book Don’t Believe Everything You Think — a fascinating short read that just might shift the way you perceive your own mind. The quote?
“Thoughts create. Thinking destroys.”
These two, 2-word sentences stopped me mid-read. How could this possibly be true?
I’ve built my life around thinking. I think about my thoughts. I analyze. I problem-solve. I reflect.
If thoughts are separate from thinking, then what have I been doing all these years?
Nguyen’s argument is compelling: thinking, when left unchecked, breeds stress, suffering, and an unnecessary layer of mental noise. I’ve touched on this in The Gift of The7Realms, where I explore how our subconscious thought patterns are often negative by default — wired by our past wounds, fears, and ego-driven narratives.
But to say that thinking itself is destructive? That felt like a stretch.
After all, I’ve spent years training as a physician, a profession rooted in rigorous thinking.
Every day, I analyze symptoms, diagnose conditions, and strategize treatments. I think about my patients’ recovery, their outcomes, their lives. If thinking is inherently destructive, then how…
