Think for a minute. What is thought? What is thinking for?
I think that thought is a change of awareness, perception, or wisdom. It is B minus A: the difference between two states of awareness in different slivers (within an identity stream). It is a consciousness differential.
Now, consciousness is centralized about a nexus. And so, when you compare two elements of a connected set, a thought represents the journey downstream from higher to lower of awareness.
Thought accompanies this stream. It may seem to be predetermined, but that is only when you focus on one stream. A thought is both the driving force and the result. It follows AND precedes. A thought determines which future stream you take, but it also describes it. Thought veers your course. It accompanies what happens. Could regard it as the wake of a ship.
The future isn't cast in stone. Thought helps you to take a direction.