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# Why changing your thoughts isn't the smartest move
- URL: https://www.gilespcroft.com/why-changing-your-thoughts-isnt-the-smartest-move/
- Published: 2026-10-07T06:00:58.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-07T06:00:57.000Z
- Description: What if there was something that was more powerful *and* less effort. Would you be interested? 😁
- Author: Giles P Croft
- Tags: Life change, Thought realisation, Real stories, Psychology, Principles, Presence, Insight, Identity, FOUNDATIONS, #re-use, #Intro course CTA

Years ago, when I first got into the world of personal development—a synonym for which is ‘ego’ (personal) ‘boosting’ (development) 🤷🏻‍♂️—I heard all these teachers banging on about the pivotal role that thought plays in our lives and how we need to change our thinking, in order to have a better experience of life.

Here's one:

> *“Change your thoughts and you can change the world.”*  
> \~ Norman Vincent Peale

It made sense to me (it seemed pretty obvious) and so I gave it a go. Affirmations, visualisation, the whole nine yards.

And oh my god it was EXHAUSTING. Like constantly trying to take control of your own breathing or something.

🤔 🫁 😮‍💨

I became profoundly dispirited by the world of personal development (here's another synonym for that: ‘separate self reinforcement’ 🤷🏻‍♂️) as a result.

I thought I just wasn't cut out for it, so I turned against it.

I had failed. Happiness involved hard work and I couldn't be bothered. I deserved to be miserable.

And boy, was I miserable.

😞

Then someone pointed me in the direction that this quote points in.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9b/f3/9bf3d316-7d32-494b-814f-a7d94d6358c3/content/images/2026/10/IMG_2190-1039w-281h.jpg)

This was different. It made me curious. It didn't seem to involve any hard work at all.

(Right up my alley! 😂)

I started learning about the *nature* of thought and over the course of just [17 days](https://www.gilespcroft.com/tag/insight-series/) (I've checked the calendar), as insight after insight rebooted my tired, struggling little brain, my entire life changed, as if by magic.

(I should note, it's not magic, but it sure as hell [*feels* magical](https://www.gilespcroft.com/logical-and-magical/) when it happens.)

- **What did I do?** Nothing. I just listened.
- **What changed?** Everything. Forever.
- **Why did it happen then?** I dunno. Timing, I suppose.

I honestly don't know why, and am profoundly grateful that it happened. Pretty much every day I wake up. No matter how ‘bad’ things might appear. (And boy, has some ‘bad’ shit happened, since then.)

Maybe I'd spent so long clinging onto false beliefs about how life worked, and struggling against its flow as a result, that the universe just threw me a bone: 

✨

**Here you go, buddy. You've put in the hard yards. It's time I showed you how it* ***really** *works. Wakey wakey!*

Oh, the *relief.*

😌

---

Why am I telling you this? 

I'm unique—just like you—but I'm not special. Irrespective of who you are, what you've been through, where you live or how you see life… at the fundamental level, we're both made up exactly the same way. Therefore:

> **It's possible for EVERY being on this planet to get this liberating shift in perspective.**

This is just how it is, and it's just how we are. Right here, right now.

But nobody told us.

It might look like actively ‘changing your thoughts’ is the answer, but it's really not. 

You'll find that thought changes all on it own, once you start to see through the [tricks of the mind](https://www.gilespcroft.com/the-magic-trick/) and relax into the truth of [who you really are](https://www.gilespcroft.com/what-does-it-mean-to-have-innate-wellbeing/).

There's no hard work to do; no wrestling with your mind, just curiosity, listening and openness. Those are the [only ingredients](https://www.gilespcroft.com/necessary-ingredients-for-change/) required.

I thought you might be interested.

😁

Giles

Want your own version of ‘17 Days’ to change? 

[![CTA Image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9b/f3/9bf3d316-7d32-494b-814f-a7d94d6358c3/content/images/2025/12/DR_Lockup-Black-1.png)](#/portal/signup) 

These sorts of jaw-dropping life changes don't come about through willpower, they happen via insight – **the seeing of something new.*

If you're ready for that kind of change (and have maybe also become a bit disillusioned with the world of ‘personal development’) then signing up to receive the free ****Daily Reminders newsletter** includes with it a series of ****8 short lessons** that act as an ****Introduction to Innate Health.**

It's me, walking you through this powerful understanding, one day at a time, so you can get your **own* changes.

**“One of those small things with big impact. Honestly, just sign up!”* \~ Paula, UK

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### Related

[Insight series - The Daily RemindersThe story of what happened over the course of 17 days, when I was introduced to the Innate Health understanding, and what it means for you 💝 (Part 1 is down at the bottom.)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9b/f3/9bf3d316-7d32-494b-814f-a7d94d6358c3/content/images/icon/DR_Lockup-Black-3-304904a9-f04e-4ed7-aaa7-5bf796e67091.png)The Daily Reminders![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9b/f3/9bf3d316-7d32-494b-814f-a7d94d6358c3/content/images/thumbnail/Topic-image---Insight-series-e5c35d89-0252-4a8a-a0b3-03d4509da353.jpg)](https://www.gilespcroft.com/tag/insight-series/)