Our thoughts greatly influence how we feel from "summary" of Feeling Good by David D. Burns
The thoughts that pass through your mind are responsible for almost everything you feel. How you feel is determined by the thoughts that run through your mind. Your emotions result directly from the way you think. If you are feeling anxious, depressed, guilty, or lonely, it is because you are thinking depressing, guilt-inducing, or lonely thoughts. If you are feeling good, it is because you are thinking happy, contented thoughts. When you are feeling sad, your thoughts are self-critical and pessimistic. When you are upset, your thoughts are usually irrational and unrealistic.
If you are feeling good, your thoughts are positive and realistically optimistic. The moment you change your thoughts, your feelings will begin to change. When you are feeling anxious, your thoughts are usually full of irrational beliefs that have no basis in reality. You will find that emotions are created by your thoughts. You spend your life experiencing your own thoughts, and that is why you are never really affected by the events that happen to you. You don't get upset because of what happens to you, but because of the way you think about what happens to you.
In order to change your mood, you must first change your thoughts. Your emotional state is created by your thoughts. You must see that it is not the world that upsets you, but your beliefs about the world. When you are feeling upset, you are viewing the events in your life from a negative perspective. You are telling yourself things that are not true. You are believing things that are irrational. You are interpreting the world in a way that makes you feel upset.
Your thoughts are like the glasses you wear. If you put on a pair of sunglasses that distorts the colors of the world, you will see everything as dark and gloomy. If you put on a pair of rosy-colored glasses, you will see everything as bright and cheery. If you look at the world through distorted lenses, you will feel distorted. If you look at the world through clear lenses, you will feel clear. Your mood is created by your thoughts. Your feelings are created by your beliefs. Your emotions are created by your interpretation of events.
