12/05/2016
says: TO STOP THE TRAIN, PULL THE CHAIN.
- Our Train Of
Now that the biggest question of the 21st century, “What came first, chicken or egg?” is answered, amongst the many important questions (minus the infamous melody and Bahubali-Katappa ones) I want us to find out, rather look within and realize, what triggers our thoughts and how often are we able to lead them from an autopilot mode to self-mode? Our next step towards designed thinking after self-mode perception and exploiting the happenstance. I’m sipping an iced-coffee, driving on a highway and commanding my phone to write for me. (Swag!)
Thinking is a process and thought is its outcome. Of all the cognitive processes shaping the way we make sense of the world, 'thinking' to me seems to be essentially conscious and crucial. Your thinking will define the quality of your perceptions. The quality of your perceptions will determine the quality of your thoughts, which then, mixing other salient external factors will form beliefs. What you believe will influence how you feel and how you feel will impact how you act or react. Most of the times, with the majority of us, this happens effortlessly, like an autopilot mode.
I have a few friends who I ‘think’ are deep thinkers and I decided to ask them about their definition of thoughts, the thinking process and how often have they lead their thoughts to where they want them to go. The answers I got are worth your time. No answer is absolutely right or wrong but is only one of the many ways of how you look at it.
Answer one:
“Our brain is by far the most complex and mysterious. I don’t remember myself not thinking even for a minute. Thoughtlessness to me is like a mirage in the dessert that we attempt to chase but never seem to reach it.
Now that I try to dig in more, I realize that there are many thoughts that come and go automatically, but there are a few that take you on a ride, like a series and then the outcome is either a decision or a judgment. The more you think, the more you tend to become negative, as negative thoughts are most tempting to hold on to. I meditate to keep my thoughts positive.”
Answer two:
“I have tried to lead my thoughts a lot of times in an attempt to turn a negative thought into positive. On the surface, you sure are trying hard to think positive but there are negative thoughts going on in parallel, like a tug of war between the negative thoughts and the positive thoughts.
I always thought that I think a lot when I’m stressed or upset but ever since you have asked me this question, I have started realizing that thinking is never-ending. While driving, listening to music, looking outside the window, reading newspaper, looking at people, eating my food and even while sleeping, my brain constantly generates new thoughts or manipulates the information stored.”
Answer three:
“Sometimes I fail to understand the difference between thinking and daydreaming. We live in a world that constantly communicates and thus our mind is chaos. To me, if you can manage to slow down and be in the moment, you might be able to follow a single thought all the way back to the thought or event that triggered it.
For all of us, making a choice or a decision starts with thinking. But what happens typically is that thoughts explode into more thoughts and it takes a calm mind and matured thinking to stick to the train of thought you were in to avoid confusion.”
THE TRAIN OF THOUGHTS
You may call your train of thoughts as a pattern of thinking or a series of connected ideas that often form beliefs or trigger emotional response. How many times have you have been driven by your thoughts without realizing it, and blamed everything on external factors? We all have wasted so much time on getting angry, sad, or despaired over meaningless things without realizing the answer lies in how you manage a moment’s train of thought.
For most of us, the train of thought is dialogic. Have you ever felt as though you are talking to yourself: not all the time (perhaps because we also associate images, sounds and experiences to it), but for an important part of it? You may choose to call it internal dialogue, introspection, meditation or anything else. The quality and outcome of your dialogue will be highly based on your level of self-awareness and your ability to see things from more than one angle.
Here’s what I do to manage my train of thoughts:
EXPLORE: It requires considerable amount of self-awareness and insight to come to terms with the intimate connections between thought and feeling, reason and emotion.
“How am I looking at the situation? What assumptions am I making? Why am I feeling the way I am feeling? Do my conclusions make sense? Are there other ways to interpret this situation?"
ACCEPT: Instead of trying hard to control your train of thoughts, you just need to accept your own thoughts and feelings, people you come across, and that things happen beyond your control. Acceptance will not only help you come into the present moment and learn to be comfortable with feeling uncomfortable but also exit from the train of thoughts that doesn’t serve your soul.
If we are self-aware and mindful of our behavior, we can exercise choice over how we react to our thoughts. Remember, you are not your thoughts and feelings. Because you think or feel anxious, that doesn’t mean you’re anxious. Because you failed and you think you are incompetent, doesn’t mean you’re incompetent. Accept your state of mind, dig in and find out what works (Turn on self-mode and ask more questions).
Example:
Auto-pilot mode: “I am always ignored during appraisals. I think I am not capable enough/ these people don’t value my work.” – Leads to a negative train of thoughts.
Self-mode: “I am always ignored during appraisals. What do I need to work on to get noticed?” – Leads to a positive train of thoughts.
EXPRESS: To me, this has always worked and every time I expressed what I think and feel, I have felt a sense of gratitude towards myself. It allowed my personality to shine. It laid the foundation of my values that shaped my identity. Not only that, I could connect with people more effectively and that helped me surround myself with like-minded people. If you are not comfortable speaking about it, try keeping a journal with you. (Research says, Actively holding back our emotions and not expressing it is hard work and taxes the body's defenses. This may negatively affect the functioning of the immune system, the heart and vascular systems, and even the brain and nervous systems.)
EXIT: Our five portals to the world — seeing, smelling, tasting, feeling, and hearing can transition us from the doing mode to the being mode but thinking on an autopilot mode can make you a slave to your senses. No wonder depressed people get into emotional eating for comfort!
Negative thoughts are tempting to hold on to. You can’t really get rid of thoughts but distracting yourself with other activities like calling up a friend or playing a game can help you shift gears and exit your train of thoughts without damaging yourself emotionally.
“Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.” ~Bruce Lee
Have a great week ahead!
Cheers!
