Thought Is the Essence of a Person
At the opening of Machshavos Charutz, Rav Tzadok describes the layers of thought and why only the deepest thought and feeling truly shape a person.
Rav Tzadok opens Machshavos Charutz with a short claim: thought is the essence of a person. But thought, he teaches, has layers. Deep within is a hidden root of thought, from which every thought flows and which a person never sees directly. Beneath it is the outer garment we do notice, the ideas and musings that pass through the mind. Yet even these are not the heart of the matter. The real thought is the one that makes an impression in the mind and passes at once to the heart, and from there to the whole body, so that feeling follows and action is born, as the eye sees, the heart desires and the hands complete. Even feeling has layers, he adds. Some of it is shallow and never reaches the depths of the heart, and genuine feeling is whatever touches the core of a person's life.
Source: Machshavos Charutz 1:6
Today, when a thought pulls at you, follow it for a moment and see where it leads. Does it stay in the mind, or does it travel to your heart and then to a decision? Choose one thought you would like to nurture, such as gratitude for something specific, and give it a full minute so that it can reach the heart. If a thought of anger or craving appears, notice how quickly it wants to become action, and give yourself a pause before you do anything.