What to do with thoughts - Part 1 of 2
Our minds are incredibly active places, constantly generating thoughts to help us understand and respond to what is happening inside of us and outside of us.
By exploring what thoughts, beliefs, and memories are, and how they are interconnected, we can begin to develop a more helpful relationship with our minds—one where we care for and consult with our thoughts rather than letting them dictate our lives.
What are thoughts?
Our autopilot brain is constantly activating thoughts in response to what we experience inside and outside of ourselves. We can experience them as images, words, fragments of sentences, whole sentences, or ideas. Our brains are wired to generate thoughts continually; it's part of how we make sense of the world.
Imagine walking down the street and seeing a dog. Instantly, you might experience something like this in your mind:
"What a cute dog,"
"I wonder what breed that is,"
"I remember when I was chased by a dog as a kid."
Those are thoughts! And they are being activated in that moment by your autopilot brain to help you understand the data your senses are receiving in the present and connecting it to past experiences.
How do I know when I’m having a thought?
Before we continue, though, we need to build our brain’s muscles on how to recognize our thoughts.
Recognizing when you are experiencing a thought involves cultivating a heightened awareness of your internal mental activity. Here are some ways to start to recognize when you’re having a thought:
Mindful observing: This involves noticing thoughts as they arise. Set a timer for five minutes and try any of these strategies:
You can observe thoughts as passing mental events rather than absolute facts, similar to clouds moving across the sky or bubbles emerging from boiling water.
You might imagine each thought as an item on a conveyor belt, acknowledging it and noting how quickly it's replaced by the next.
You could also notice a thought and then label it, “This is a thought,” or “I’m having a thought about tomorrow.”
This includes noticing thoughts and feelings about thoughts, “That is a judgment thought,” or “I’m noticing sadness is present when I think that thought.”
Catching automatic thoughts: Ask yourself, "What's going through my mind right now?".
Immediately jot down the thought or mental image that comes to mind.
Thoughts can be related to externals (what just happened) or internals (an intense emotion, a sensation, an image, or a stream of thoughts).
Just like any skill, this requires repetition over time.
For 1-2 weeks, pick the same time each day to take five minutes to practice either of those strategies.
As you do it, you may not notice a difference, but with repetition over time, the learning compounds and you start to create a neural pathway that helps you be more aware of your thoughts.
You’ll know you’ve done this when you spontaneously start to practice either of those skills.
After you’ve started to train your brain to notice your thoughts, you can take the next step to understand and relate to your thoughts. For that, head over to Part 2.
