4 Practical Ways to Broaden Your Thinking

Bearing in mind that we are what we think (see Tuesday’s post for a good example of this!), we have an opportunity to affect the way we feel just by changing our thoughts.  

Here are a few ideas from me on how we can do this, and I’d love to hear your suggestions too so don’t be shy! 

1. Experiment with looking at the world through positive glasses.  

Let’s face it, most people are lovely, places are interesting, people do amazing things every day and the weather is often pretty good so why do we have this tendency to look at things negatively?  

My belief is that it’s down to the things we read, the people we associate with and the stuff we watch on the telly-box – all things we can control. So, in-order to get more love, creativity, joy, and other positive emotions into your life, look at what you read and watch and who you talk to and, if they make you feel bad, think about reducing your exposure to them. Better yet actively look for the positivity in any situation and see what happens. 

2. Identify your personal biases.

We all have them. It’s our biases that cause us to believe things are true even when they’re not (and vice versa). They also make us look at people either positively or negatively. Our biases may cause us to take more responsibility for our successes than our failures or to take responsibility for our failures but attribute successes to luck, the stars or someone else (very common in people experiencing imposter thinking). For example, we may blame a teacher when we fail a paper but praise ourselves when we get do brilliantly or vice versa. The trick is to pay attention and then challenge the assumptions we’ve made based on them. 

3. Be brave enough to listen to your intuition.

Intuition is that inner voice, that gut-feel, that helps you identify good and bad decisions. Don’t ignore your inner voice. Listen to it and try to analyse what it could mean.  

You don’t have to blindly follow your intuition, but you could use it alongside your logic when considering certain decisions. For example, if you’re buying a new house, you might get a better “vibe” or “feeling” about one particular place compared to another. Ask yourself what’s the root cause of that feeling? You may realise there is actually a good reason why you feel that way. 

4. Practice mindfulness daily.

When you eat, when you walk, when you drive, when you work, focus your entire attention on what you’re doing without getting distracted. There are also apps such as Headspace, Aura and Calm which have guided mindfulness meditations you can listen to.  

 Why mindfulness?  

 Research has shown that mindfulness helps to develop the pre-frontal cortex in our brains. The pre-frontal cortex is associated with memory, focus and emotional intelligence all of which can help you broaden your thinking by changing your mindset. 

 Additional thoughts on a postcard (or a comment below) please! 

 Caro x