Goal for this post: People who read this post will improve their ability to notice the content of their thoughts.
My new favorite quote is “The mind is a great servant, but a terrible master.” The more I hear this saying, the truer it gets. Our minds are incredible. They are capable of strokes of genius, complex problem solving, and endless creativity.
The sad thing is our minds spend more time in autopilot than dazzling with mental gymnastics.
Studies show that our minds have between 12,000 and 90,000 thoughts per day and that around 95-98% of that content is not original. Yep. We think the same thing day after day. For most of the day, our minds are on AUTOPILOT.
We are airing reruns all day on our own personal TV channel from hades. I call it the TV channel from hades because studies suggest that 70-80% of those thoughts are negative. Our minds really are terrible masters. Our master needs no prompting to bring a variety of thoughts to mind. Our minds take little direction and bucks like a bronco when we try to control it. Sort of like: that which you resist, persists.
Have you ever tried to listen to your thoughts? If you haven’t done this yet today, take 15 seconds to notice whats playing right now in the background of your mind. Just check in. Do it before you read on. I’ll wait.
What did you notice? Previous to any exposure to therapy, the only thoughts on my radar were mental notes like, “I wonder what the weather is like now?” and, “I’ve got to pick up bread before I head home.”
Then I learned about mind chatter. These are the thoughts that are on like a fuzzy TV channel in the background. They are barely noticeable; most of them segments, not sentences. For example, during my 15 second check in I noticed my mind sounded like this.
“Dirty laundry.”
“Getting late.”
“Wispy hair. UGH!”
These may blips seem unimportant to you. But I know they have emotional context. I know that “Dirty laundry” means I’ve gone ANOTHER day without finding time to do my laundry and who knows if I ever will again.
I know that, “Getting late,” means I’m running out of patience and I’m tempted give up on everything I have left to do tonight.
I know that “Wispy hair” is my way of criticizing my own appearance at the end of the day when my coif is now far from the styling of this morning.
Alright, lets observe our thoughts again. Notice what is playing in the background of your mind. Don’t just listen to the loud obvious thoughts; listen for the blips and the commentary on top of your thoughts. Notice how your thoughts try to hook you in and get you ruminating. Avoid the temptation to get wrapped up in your thoughts. Instead try to non-judgmentally observe your mind like you would a pond. We are not resisting, we are observing. We are letting thoughts come and go. In fact, I’m going to get really specific about what I want you to try.
NO MORE AUTOPILOT TASK (time 2-3 minutes): Take a few deep breaths. Close your eyes and prepare to observe your mind. Your brain will bring all kinds of things to your mind. That’s ok. That is the way of the mind. It can not be controlled. As you register a thought simply observe. Your task is to say, “I notice I’m having the thought that______(fill in the blank).” Instead of getting hooked and distracted, acknowledge the thought and then allow it to float out the same way it came in. Then go back to observing your mind. Continue this saying for as many thoughts as you have. You may have an endless supply of thoughts. That is ok. End when you feel you have a gauge on where your (autopilot) flight is heading.
Hint: Your task isn’t to form a positive thought when you discover a negative one. It is to become a master at observing your thoughts. After this exercise, you can decide which thoughts you want to pick up and keep with you, and which ones you want to only acknowledge and let pass by.
