Our thoughts define how we live. The way we think shapes our world. The noetic, thought provoking conversations we have in our head lead us to everything else.
Attitude. World views. Happiness levels. People we align with. The way we live our lives. The food we eat.
Yes. It’s redundant to say, “noetic” and “thoughts” as they are one in the same. And yet, most of us, on any given day, at any given time, are not thinking at all. We’re on autopilot. We get a thought in our heads and we go with it.
According to the Noetic Sciences, the definition is, “From the Greek noēsis/ noētikos, meaning inner wisdom, direct knowing, or subjective understanding” but come on … it’s all subjective, … isn’t it?
Auto Pilot
We follow our routines. We believe what we think. We think we know what we know and most of the time, we forget that so many of our thoughts are planted there before we know that we’ve been influenced by outside sources of information.
One of my most influential teachers is Albert Einstein who reminded us that a great teacher doesn’t teach us information to be learned, but how to think about how to think.
I’ve been thinking about it ever since.
Collect Our Thoughts?
When I get flustered or stressed out, my go-to response is usually, “I need a moment to collect my thoughts”. I have a natural tendency toward spontaneity. I have, in the past, leaned into my “B” brain creative side even in times that require a more thoughtful response.
That’s the beautiful part of maturity. Our brains settle into an understanding that we can choose our thoughts. We can decide if our way of thinking is working for us or not. We can replace our negative thoughts with more positive ones. We can, for the sake of a more balanced life focus on what brings us joy, love, amusement, emotional satisfaction, and so on.
Emotional Intelligence
When we know we can choose our thoughts, we open the door to every other decision we make for ourselves. We can make better decisions. We can refocus a stuck thought pattern. We can even recreate our memories to include lessons learned, or gratitude in the story of what we think we thought.
We become more sophisticated in how we approach everything when we learn how to learn. The same is true when we learn how to love our own thoughts.
But what’s the point in thinking about our thinking? I’m noticing just how many people are misinterpreting ‘thought’, ‘mindfulness’, ‘staying present’ in our life. All of that goes back to the basics.
Decision making. Life choices. How we treat ourselves or others. All of it requires us to question everything. Including our own thoughts.
They say, “hurt people hurt people” right? So, what if we can help to rewire how people think about their thinking. To learn how to love every aspect of our lives includes thinking about thinking.
Thoughtful.
Peace!
Karen
About the Author: Karen Henry [Daly], MA CRM owns Henry Healing as a holistic well-being practitioner and writer. She’s a former university professor and current scholar practicing the infusion of positive, existential and community psychology. Wednesday is my Tuesday.
“We Are The Positive Psychology People”