A couple of years ago, the company I worked for began to struggle in the slumping economy. It became clear that it was time for me to move on. I had worked in the same industry for almost my whole career. Media reports of an economy in decline gave me doubts about the prospect of another job and the feeling that I had limited options because of what had been a single career path. I realized I had to begin thinking for myself and not allow commonly accepted human opinions to limit or define my future.
What does it mean to think for oneself? To me, it means continually examining thought to be sure it’s influenced by God, the one Mind, and not by “group-think” or opinions. Thoughts that come from the divine are always fresh, expansive, productive, and inspire hope. They have a healing effect. Conclusions based only on opinions, or evidence from the material senses, rather than on Mind, are always limited and often induce fear. For instance, an Internet headline recently announced, “Older workers struggle to find new jobs,” and then continued, “For aging adults looking to jump back into the workforce, a job offer can be hard to find”.
In the media we frequently hear that the United States may never again experience a high standard of living, that heredity determines ability, and that a job defines who we are or what we are capable of doing. Do we have to accept such limitations for anyone, anywhere? Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science, observed, “Floating with the popular current of mortal thought without questioning the reliability of its conclusions, we do what others do, believe what others believe, and say what others say” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 228).
