I encouraged you to take some time to become more aware of your thoughts, including both what you think about as well as how you think about whatever it is that you are thinking.
This self-awareness is an important step in our development towards thinking more clearly. It can help use recognize both positive and negative thought patterns and habits of mind, both of which can help improve our ability to make good decisions (Nyugen).
To that end, here are a few exercises to help you become more aware of your own thoughts and ways of thinking:
What do you think about? And how do you think about it?
Over the course of the next few days, take some time occasionally to notice your thoughts:- What things are you thinking about?
- Is there a pattern or a recurring theme to your thoughts?
- Do your thoughts randomly jump from this to that, or do you generally have a flow of ideas that naturally connect?
- Are you frequently distracted, or can you easily maintain your focus and concentration?
- How would you characterize the content of your inner dialogue, that "voice in your head"?
- What sorts of things do you find easy to think about?
- Which are difficult? Enjoyable? Unpleasant?
- Do you notice a connection between your thoughts and emotions?
At this point, it isn't necessary--or even beneficial--to become overly analytical or critical of your thinking; we simply want to develop a better awareness of it.
Building self-awareness this way prepares our minds for learning the various cognitive skills and techniques which we will be considering later.
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Sources: Nguyen, Thai. "12 Self-Awareness Exercises That Fuel Success." Entrepreneur. Entrepreneur Media, Inc., 11 Jan. 2016. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.
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