Metathinking
Let's start answering some questions:
- Have you already thought about your own thoughts?
- Have you thought about why you had a specific thought at a specific moment?
- What are the triggers and motivators that led you to build your current habits? Did you reflect on it at least once?
That's the metathinking process. The practice of analyzing your mind from the outside, like a spectator of yourself.
I know it looks abstract at first glance. So, consider these practical examples of how metathinking is used in day-to-day moments:
- Notice a bad emotion (such as fear or anxiety) and try to understand its reasons and if you are not demonizing a small situation.
- Identify the possible motivators behind a big decision (e.g. quitting a job, a degree choice, a breakup, etc). Sometimes you may be rushing something that can wait longer.
- Understand why you have a specific bad habit. Identify the triggers that led you to it: places, people, actions, emotions, and so on. Understanding the problem is the first step to solving it.
Assuming a third point of view of your own mind gives you a different perspective on your life. It won't provide all the answers you expect, but at least it will make the big picture clearer than before. It can help you pay attention to the motivations of your actions and the reasons for your emotions, which leads to better self-control.
Living in automatic mode all the time, just following every instinct, is dangerous and may lead you to make bad decisions. On the other side, trying to control each small action and scan every thought is also unsafe. You may fall into an infinite thinking spiral that will produce the opposite effect: start becoming irrational.
Avoid both extremes. This is what sounds healthy to me. Live your life calmly, don't overthink each step. Set aside a moment (minutes, not hours) to reflect on yourself, your last decisions, and what you expect from yourself in the future. But don't take it too seriously, don't overpressure yourself. Metathinking should help you live a better and more peaceful life, not make you a slave of yourself.
See you next time!