A thought is harmless, 

unless we believe it. 

We have random thoughts all day, every day. Thoughts pop into our heads constantly. If something is troubling you, the thoughts popping in are so frequent it's hard to keep track. 

Your wish may be to not think about what is bothering you, to put it out of your mind completely to reduce the stress. In order to do this, you need to first be aware of all of your thoughts, then take a look at each one. Is it true? Realistically, is it just supposition? Is it fear talking? Assess the thoughts in this way and then very purposefully deny them access. As stated in the quote, the thoughts themselves are harmless, it is what we attach to the thought that causes the stress. So whatever you are obsessing about, your love life, your finances, your children or simply world peace, you are receiving a barrage of thoughts concerning that obsession.

Obsession, you all know what that is like. It’s a fear that will not go away; it plays the same tune over and over in your head. It’s being agitated, which manifest itself with pacing, twitches, compulsive movements with your hands, and/or any repetitive act. The head is parroting the ego, and ego does not like/want change and fear is the result. It wants to keep you exactly where you are. It plays on your fears, with thoughts like: “you will end up a bag lady, you’ll never find the right guy, or your kids will get hurt”; all the negative thoughts. This “anticipating disaster” style of negative thinking only leads to stress, anxiety, unhappiness, frustration and sleepless nights; which, of course, eventually leads to illness in some form or another. 

I have learned not listen to my head when the thoughts cause me stress. I tune it out, however I can. It is not the truth, it is just supposition and fear, and not worth my time. It isn't easy to stop the chatter, but if you become aware of your stressful thoughts, and understand that it is just the ego talking, or old buttons being pushed, you can learn to control the voices in your head. You are not here to suffer, you are here to be happy and to love your life. Namaste