Of course you create them, but what I am saying is there is a bigger YOU beyond the personality. It is what is called awareness. Thoughts act as interference patterns which are like waves on the ocean. They don't affect the ocean per se. They just appear on it.
But if you think you can control them as you say....
Try this
Don't think of a yellow Volkswagon.
How'd you do?
There is two things going on. Awareness, that which is ultimately untouchable by our story of "self" and the story. You can go beyond the story or you can recreate it which is where you are coming from. I agree with both methods depending on what the end goal is.
If you read my other posts you will see that I am very much inline with healing our incongruencies within our subconscious mind. It is important to realize though, that this editing takes place at the code level of the human experience of consciousness. What I was saying earlier is this code lies over top of the deeper/spiritual aspect of who we really are.