You Have Authority
My son and I grabbed lunch together after a workout this week. We discussed a lot of things but something that seems to keep circling back is his frustration with thoughts he feels he shouldn't be having.
Now I’m blessed as a parent. I’m always bracing for the moment when the bomb drops and he tells me his thoughts have gone completely sideways. Instead, he tells me that one of his “bad” thoughts is getting frustrated when his younger sister wants him to keep playing longer, while he has other things he wants to do. If that’s as bad as it gets, thank God.
His thought process is cyclical and has a glitch. He will have a thought run through his mind that he is not a fan of, but then he will turn around and be frustrated with himself for having that thought.
We talked through how he is not alone in this predicament and that if all the people walking by acted on all the thoughts that they have we'd be living in a pretty dark world.
We expanded into a mindset that I thought was worth sharing today.
You have authority over your thoughts.
While this may seem like a simple and trite statement I often find myself forgetting this truth. It's rooted in my lack of ability to reign in my thoughts and take them captive before they take me on a journey that I didn't agree to partake in.
I literally sent a text to a close friend recently as all the political and economic posts that flood my feed everyday had my brain down a path that I knew wasn't healthy or warranted but needed him to talk me off a proverbial cliff.
How often do you find yourself questioning the motives of others?
How often do we generate anxiety over a deal or conversation going bad simply because we let our mind go down the wrong path?
How often do we build a case against someone on a list of truncated assumptions?
How often do we tear ourselves down due to a poor performance simply because we didn't shut ourselves up?
Our thoughts will take off running if we don't take the time to quiet them. You have that authority to tell yourself.."we're not going there".
I told my son to remember this phrase, something I had created to repeat to myself to begin the process of rectifying this habit of loose thoughts.
I have authority over my thoughts.
Pure Mind.
Pure Body.
Pure Heart.
Each one builds on the other and it is imperative that we learn to capture our thoughts and tell them where to go.
Pure Mind
A pure mind is not an empty mind. It is a disciplined one.
Thoughts show up uninvited. Some are helpful. Some are harmless. Some are destructive if left unchecked. Purity of mind starts with recognizing that a thought does not equal truth and it does not equal intent.
Most damage is not done by actions. It is done by rehearsed narratives. We replay conversations that never happened. We predict outcomes without evidence. We assign motives we never confirmed. A pure mind learns to interrupt that pattern early.
This is where authority matters. You are allowed to challenge your own thinking. You are allowed to pause and say, this thought does not deserve control. That single pause is often the difference between clarity and chaos.
Pure Body
What happens in the mind never stays isolated. The body keeps score.
Tension in the shoulders. A tight jaw. Shallow breathing. Restlessness. Fatigue. These are often symptoms of mental noise, not physical strain.
A pure body is not about perfection or aesthetics. It is about stewardship. Sleep matters. Movement matters. Nutrition matters. Stillness matters. Each one either amplifies or quiets the mind.
When the body is neglected, the mind loses leverage. It becomes harder to slow racing thoughts when your nervous system is already overloaded. Caring for the body creates margin. Margin creates space. Space makes authority easier to exercise.
Pure Heart
The heart is where thoughts land if they are not redirected.
Unchecked thoughts turn into beliefs. Beliefs turn into posture. Posture turns into how we treat people and ourselves.
A pure heart is guarded, not hardened. It filters what it allows to take root. Bitterness often starts as a single unchallenged thought. So does fear. So does resentment.
Protecting the heart requires honesty and humility. You admit when something stirred you. You name it before it grows. You choose forgiveness earlier than feels natural.
A pure heart is not naive. It is intentional.
Mind, body, heart. None operate in isolation. When one drifts, the others follow. When one is strengthened, the others benefit.
That is why the phrase works. It is simple, repeatable, and grounding.
I have authority over my thoughts.
It is not about control in the harsh sense. It is about responsibility. You may not choose the thoughts that appear, but you do choose which ones you entertain, which ones you rehearse, and which ones you release.
Today’s Forced Challenge: I want you to FORCE yourself to attack at least one of these challenges:
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Thought Interruption: Catch yourself mid-spiral and verbally say “we’re not going there,” then redirect your attention to something concrete instead of continuing the internal conversation.
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Assumption Audit: Identify one assumption you have made about someone or a situation and force yourself to list at least two alternative explanations that require less intent and less malice.
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Narrative Reduction: When replaying a conversation or outcome, strip the story down to only what was said and done, removing imagined tone, motive, and meaning.
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Mental Intake Fast: Take one full day away from political, economic, or outrage-driven content and notice how much quieter your mind becomes without constant external stimulation.
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Self-Talk Shutdown: When you catch yourself tearing down your own performance, stop the dialogue entirely and replace it with one objective fact about what actually happened.
Authority shows up in the quiet moments when a thought asks for permission and you finally realize you do not have to grant it. The work is not eliminating every stray idea or reaction. The work is choosing which ones get to stay. Mind, body, heart move in the direction of whatever you rehearse most.
When you remember that you have authority, you stop being dragged and start leading. And most days, that is more than enough.
“You cannot stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can stop them from building a nest in your hair.”
- Martin Luther
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