Without exception all man-made creation, we must understand, was first thought or “imagination” in somebody's mind, long before it took physical form and became a functional reality. A good example of that is the airplane and every single invention or creation on planet earth. It was already a reality in the mind of its creator first and then became reality.
It is normal and an absolute necessity, in the physical/material world for “thinking” creatures to act upon their thoughts, to even survive. However, when I speak of how our thoughts influence our lives, I’m referring to the conflicting/contrasting “thought patterns” that are a reflection of how or the way each of us lives. What you are thinking, feeling, living, and experiencing, right now, this very minute, is a reflection of all the thoughts you dwelt upon yesterday and all the days of your life. On average our mind drifts over sixty to seventy thousand thoughts in a day, and unless we make a concerted effort to learn something new, we are going to do a mental encore of eighty percent of those thoughts. And the pattern continues the same every day uninterrupted, while our thoughts, feelings, and experiences remain the same.
So when our thoughts influence our lives, and we have the freedom to choose the thoughts we think, happiness or sadness, vibrant health or ailing, successful or unsuccessful are all merely choices we make, and which choice we choose is a reflection of our lives.