Voluntary thought, (conscious thought), has to do with our everyday thinking.
We plan how we will spend our day, think about something we did yesterday, what we have to do tomorrow, or focus on solving a problem.
Involuntary thought, (unconscious thought), comes to us uninvited.
Passive examples are dreaming, daydreaming, imagining, or fantasizing. These thoughts are intrusive, uninvited thoughts that seem to come out of nowhere. In other words, we didn’t choose to think them.
Sometimes, involuntary thoughts are more unwelcome and come at inappropriate times. These can be puzzling and can cause stress, anxiety, even depression.
· “He’s so mean! I want to scratch his eyes out.”
· “That child is obnoxious! I’d like to slap his mother.”
When we focus on an unwelcome involuntary thought, we make it a voluntary thought. When it brings images of something we would never do in reality, we tend to also internalize it: “I must be bad for thinking this.” “Where did this come from?”
Everyone experiences involuntary, unconscious thoughts. They are perfectly normal and part of what makes us human. What’s important is what we choose to do with those stressful, involuntary thoughts. Most people simply let them go. They don’t choose to focus on them.
That being said, as humans, we also have a hidden, darker side, a place in our unconscious where unwanted behaviors reside.
Some extremely broken people are only able to focus on the intrusive involuntary thought, even if it’s a bad one. They go on to make a conscious decision to act on it.
Some even become a school shooter ...
Published Poet/Writer/Author of 5 books.
Quora Top Writer 2018
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