A Window Into Your Mind

Now, what do I mean by that?

Anytime we are involved in an incident or an event, we make microsecond evaluations about whether that possible action or that possible outcome will be beneficial for us or whether it will be painful and it'd be a disadvantage to us.

We make these micro evaluations in split second moments.

And very often we're completely unconscious of the process. By becoming more aware of that process, we start to be able to observe our thinking in a different way.

This allows us to add a pause between that stimulus response mechanism and it allows us to make different decisions and it allows us to get better outcomes.

The way that we can actually look at this is to do a practical example. What I'd like you to do is think about something you're struggling with, something you think is a challenge, something that you think is holding you back.

Then what I'd like you to do on a piece of paper, just divide it into two columns, so you've got one either side and in the left-hand column, write down all the positives, the advantages, the benefits, and the learnings that this challenge is going to give you.

And then on the right side, make a list of all the downsides, the problems, the challenges as you see at the moment.

And what you'll notice when you complete that exercise is that one column is much more heavily weighted than the other.

Next turn the page over and this time we're going to think about something that you enjoy, something that you spontaneously do and something that you like doing and I'm going to ask you to do that same process.

So in one column, write down all the positives, the benefits, the advantages and in the next column, write down the drawbacks, the downsides and the pains of doing it.

And once again, what you'll see is that one column is more heavily weighted relative to the other.

This is a really helpful insight into how you make those micro evaluations and it also gives you a practical tool about how you can change the way that you see those possibilities.

So on that side where you're noticing a challenge, if you were to put some time and some energy in and really think it through and balance out the columns, what you'll notice is that that fear of doing it or that resistance will start to melt away.

Similarly on that side that you like doing, you love doing, and you keep doing, if you were to then go in and find more of the downsides and the negatives, you would then have a more balanced perception of it and you'd be more objective and be able to make clearer decisions.

This is a nice and handy tool for you to use to really get a grip on how you're seeing certain actions and to give you an insight into those micro evaluations that you do on a daily basis.

I'd love to hear what are the actions that you do this exercise on, so please share those in the comments below and I'll speak to you soon.