Memorial patterns and ways of thinking: our mindset

According to Buddhist teachings, the foundations of mindfulness include four areas in which people can train their attention. These four areas are body awareness, feelings and their perception, experiencing thoughts, and recognizing thought patterns. Today I would like to focus on the fourth area: our mindset. Before we move on to specific ways of thinking in the next blog post that can positively influence our lives in the long term, I would first like to clarify what we mean by mindset and why it plays such a significant role for us.

A thought rarely comes alone: ​​prejudices, attitudes, core beliefs, opinions, or chains of associations about certain people, things, or topics repeat themselves over and over again, constantly reaffirming themselves. With some thoughts, we know from the outset that they're untrue – yet we continue to think them. This is often the case with fears and the imagining of worst-case scenarios. We often take things other people have said or done personally, or overinterpret certain situations. Because we aren't rational beings, such thought patterns are, in principle, completely normal.

How do thought patterns develop? What are they good for?

Our brain processes countless pieces of information every second. However, not all of this information can be forwarded and "thought through" to its conclusion, as that would exceed our brain's capacity. Therefore, our brain filters all of this information. It categorizes it and adds it to existing, similar associations, or discards it and doesn't process it further. Our brain wants to relieve us of stress through this filter. Essentially, the filter ensures our survival. We learn to adequately assess situations so that we can then respond appropriately.

Let me illustrate this with an example: When we place our hand in an open fire, or observe someone else doing this, we learn that this isn't such a good idea. Our brain creates an association; it links "fire + hand (or body part) = pain/burn/life-threatening." We thus learn that fire can be threatening to humans. If we weren't able to form such associations, a situation involving fire would be a new experience every time. u.U. life-threatening. We would have to learn everything over and over again, and not only would we be stuck in the same place, but we would also have extremely low chances of survival.

Why do thought patterns have such power over our lives?

Thought patterns help us to act faster and better assess future situations. They arise from the linking of new information to existing neural networks. Now, the more more often a neural network is activated, the lighter This network can be activated. In other words: the more often a thought is thought, the faster we will think that thought in the future because it is more easily accessible to us than other thoughts.

If after a defeat or a mistake I think "Oh dear, I'm such a failure; I knew this wouldn't work out", then after the next situation that didn't go as planned I'm more likely to think "I'm a failure..." than, for example, "That can happen. What can I learn from it?" - precisely because there are already existing associations between "defeat = bad/not good enough = failure".And this is how thought patterns ultimately emerge…

Hopefully this makes it clear how important everything we think from second to second is and what kind of thoughts we fill our heads with.

Our brain is plastic

The good news is that none of this would work if our brains weren't adaptable. The so-called plasticity of our brain allows us to form new associations or strengthen certain existing ones. Thus, we have the best conditions for changing our thinking and ultimately our actions. We are not powerless over our thoughts. You can influence how you see the world, what you think about yourself and how you want to approach life.

The "bad" news is that all of this takes practice. We've been living on this planet for several decades now and have probably reinforced the same networks of associations thousands or millions of times. These associations are therefore very stable, and our thought processes are activated almost automatically, without us consciously noticing. This makes it difficult to change these networks. Therefore, we have to train our brain like a muscle, and that takes time. Just as we can't lose 10 kg overnight, we can't take our mindset from zero to one hundred overnight.

How can we change our mindset?

If you want to change your way of thinking, let go of old patterns, or develop a new, positive mindset, mindfulness is your best friend. The further we progress in mindfulness practice, the more easily we can let go of thoughts, stop thinking about them, or replace them with more appropriate thinking.

To change dysfunctional or negative cognitions, it is first necessary to become aware of them. We are so caught up in our autopilot in everyday life that it can be really difficult at first to identify our typical thoughts and thought patterns. Meditation helps immensely in slowing down thoughts and perceiving them from an observer's perspective, without having to judge or suppress them. Here you will find some suggestions and tips about meditation.

A good exercise in perceiving one’s own thought patterns can also Journaling When you put your thoughts on paper, you can more quickly identify which positive and dysfunctional thoughts you have.

The next step is to transform these old, dysfunctional thoughts into new, positive ones, gradually building a new mindset. You'll learn how to transform core beliefs and which specific ways of thinking can improve your life in our next blog post.

Until then, I'll give you a little task:

Over the next few days, try to actively notice your thoughts. Tell yourself "stop" every now and then and observe what you were thinking in the moments before the stop signal. How do you talk to yourself daily? What are your typical thought patterns? You can also write these things down at the end of the day or reflect on them in bed before going to sleep.

Try to approach this playfully, like a little explorer who is totally curious.

Please don't be so hard on yourself if you notice that you are thinking negatively.This isn't about running around like a Cheshire cat all day long, having to think everything's great. Try to focus your thoughts as much as possible value-free to perceive. The whole thing is meant to give you insight into your mind and help you get to know yourself better.

If you would like to learn more about mindfulness, healthy eating or sustainability, take a look here over.