Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Ought Thoughts

This last Sunday we had some great talks in my ward. Sometimes full talks stick out to me and sometimes little bits here and there get me thinking. This time it was a small moment in a talk but it has me thinking.

One of the speakers mentioned a seminar or a conference he went to years ago where Steven Covey was the keynote speaker. One of the things that Steven Covey talked about was "Ought Thoughts". He was speaking to business men and women on how to be successful. He told them that when they have a thought come to them like "I ought to do this" or "I ought to do that" they should do it and if they did they would have greater success. Well, I think this flows perfectly into all of our personal life businesses.

I often have quick thoughts come to my mind such as I ought to drop by and bring that person a treat or I wonder how so-and-so is doing I ought to give them a call, but do I always listen to my "Ought Thoughts", NO!

Now in this case he used the term "Ought Thoughts" and sometimes that may be all that they are but more often than not I think those thoughts are promptings from the Holy Ghost. If you ever have a thought to do something and that something is good, DO IT! There is no need to question if it is a prompting or not if it is a worthwhile, wholesome, and helpful thought.

I think that often these types of thoughts are fleeting or are simply a quick thought that can be lost. I know that I have these types of thoughts but I also know that I often dismiss them and soon forget them.

I challenge us all to listen to these promptings, these impressions, these "Ought Thoughts" and to urgently follow through or promptly write them down. And I believe that if we do this we will have greater fulfillment and success in our lives and we will come to understand and hear the promptings of the Holy Ghost more frequently and more fully.

6 comments:

Christa said...

Does this count when your "ought thought" is "I ought to clean the living room." or "I ought scrub the toilets today"?
Because I had those "ought thoughts" today but then my body (in a very demanding tone no less) said "What you need to do is take a nap!"
Can you guess who won?
I better go clean the toilets now.

pam said...

great thoughts

Mona said...

Soooo good. "Ought thoughts" -- I love mental hooks like that - catchy phrases that help us remember important concepts --- THANK YOU for sharing.

Love,
Mona

Kaleena said...

I put a link to your blog at http://ldstestimonyblog.blogspot.com/
just so you know.

Mark and Kristen said...

I liked that talk, too. I like everything she says. I also liked the idea of taking notes during prayers. Good meeting.

Erin said...

Listening to that voice has healed wounds in our family, gotten us out of situations before they turned negative and generally provided for the well-being of our family. Ought thoughts are more powerful than people realize.