I have recently become increasingly aware of how much influence our thoughts have on defining what our world looks and feels like. They create the background and ambience to our entire living experience. In this state of heightened awareness, I have becoming increasingly mindful of how I can change my perspective of the world by consciously choosing to think and see things as they are rather than how I think they are.
As human beings we have created emotional shortcuts which help us to make decisions, to act quickly and with efficiency. This is an important component of learning and creating knowledge repositories that aid us in dealing with complex situations and people.
How often though, do we take time to reflect on whether the “past”, the experiences and the repository, may have caused an error in judgment, or an inaccurate conclusion to be reached. Through my reflections I have started to “process” information differently to allow me to reach decisions that may be closer to the truth, rather than acting on reflex. In many ways, this is mindful thinking and living. Here are MY quick shortcuts:
- Catch yourself
I suppose the first action is to recognise that one may be about to make a judgement /decision. Then to realise WHY you are making the decision. - Examine the facts
See the facts for what they are and not what you perceive them to be. STOP and don’t judge/jump to a conclusion immediately. If you find yourself making an assumption, catch that too and relook at the facts. - Remove the emotion
Confirmation biases creep in when we see things as we want them to, often because this fits into what WE want or need from a particular situation. I must say that this requires much more discipline because our emotions are the spectacles through which we see the world. Removing the emotion means saying to yourself that “I will be ok irrespective of what the outcome”. Being mindful allows you to accept the situation as it is, to live in the moment and to deal with it in a rational way that you will be proud of in the future and importantly, that you will not regret. - Confidence and grounding
As human beings we fear uncertainty and the unknown. We need to accept, that we are capable of infinite possibilities and realise that we will be ok, that we can create new opportunities from all outcomes, once we change our mindsets. - Reprogram your brain
Years of thinking in a certain way results in wiring ourselves with certain automatic thoughts and actions. Good or bad, these thoughts can be retrained, and programmed through meditative techniques. Additionally, our busy brains can be quietened to slowly receive information as it is, to enjoy life and savour the present and as a bonus, lower stress levels too by changing your physiology.
So, change the landscape of your life. Even though your thoughts define how life looks – only to you, YOU have a great influence on others through your perspectives. Seeing things differently, means THINKING differently. Take leadership of yourself first by being aware of why you think the way you do, and inevitably this means how you influence your world too. This is much bigger than you think…