On Believing Our Thoughts

An Insight from In the Room

“It is fascinating how many people believe their thoughts.”

Those random sentences that emerge uninvited in our conscious mind.

There are multiple observations that show that our thoughts are constructs of our subconscious rather than truth.

Our choices are governed by cognitive biases, and then we construct a story around why we made that choice.

The most common one we see manifests when we pay attention to something. For example, if we are in the market for a Mercedes, we see them all over the road. Or if we focus on risk aversion, we notice all the failure around us, and everything becomes too risky.

Don’t believe your thoughts. Play with them.

Ask yourself, “How does this thought serve me? And what proof do I have that this is true?”, and acknowledge it, test it and give it the space to be untrue.

If you find this hard, a daily mindfulness practice is a useful habit.

Wisdom from Out the Room

“Studies show that one of the best ways to lift your mood is to engineer an easy success, such as tackling a long-delayed chore.” - Gretchen Rubin

“A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labors of a spasmodic Hercules.” - Anthony Trollope

“The greatest threat to success is inconsistency.” - Shane Parrish