What is the difference between a preference and a thought? Are they the same?

For example, I prefer yoga over running. I prefer walking in the woods vs. walking in the city. If I understand the model correctly, however, I could change these ‘preferences’ because they’re really just thoughts. So for example, I could work on a model to convince myself that I like running over yoga or maybe just as much as yoga. Is this line of thinking correct? Can any ‘preference’ be changed? Do we change it when it does not serve us?