[Neurons] 2019 Neurons #5 A COGNITIVE MAKE-OVER

[Michael Hall]

From: L. Michael Hall

2019 Neurons #5

January 21, 2019

 

A COGNITIVE MAKE-OVER

 

Now make-overs are common these days.  There are home make-overs-a
re-modeling of a home to give it a whole new look and function.  There is
the personal make-over- an updating of one's wardrobe- hair, dress, and
public presentation.  A make-over cleans things up, updates what is out of
date, eliminates what is non-functional, introduces more effective and
efficient techniques, and establishes what will be more solid and robust.
Sound good, right?  Well, what if we did that for your mind- for your
thinking capacities?

 

Cognitively we all need regular make-overs in order to keep our minds highly
efficient for processing information, solving problems, creating highly
desired innovations, connecting effectively with people, negotiating
conflicts smoothly, and much, much more.  With a Cognitive Make-Over you
will be able to avoid being deceived by a cognitive bias and/or experiencing
the misery of the cognitive distortions.  Is that enough reasons for getting
a cognitive make-over? If not, then consider the biggest reason of all.

 

The quality of your thinking determines the quality of your life.  There's a
reason for this.  It is because thinking- both what and how you think-
governs everything.  It governs your communications to others as it governs
your communications to yourself.  It governs your emotional states which, in
turn, govern your skills and performances.  It governs your ability to solve
the problems that life throws at you and your flexibility in adjusting.  Now
that's a thought about thinking!

 

When it comes to thinking, that's something you already do.  You have been
doing it from your beginning.  And that's also why you now have thinking
habits- and some of them are undoubtedly poor thinking habits, and
amazingly, you are also probably not be aware of them.  These habits can
lead to sub-optimal beliefs and actions thereby making life unnecessarily
stressful and miserable.  And all along, you may not even be aware of your
thinking or your thinking habits because they are usually not conscious.
Given that you may also be unaware and lacking the most important cognitive
skill- meta-thinking.

 

Meta-thinking, the ability to think about your thinking, gives you the
capacity to quality control your thinking, to update it, and to make sure it
serves you well.  Without that ability you can be easily influenced and
duped by those who know how to play to the basic human cognitive biases. And
that can be a formula for personal catastrophes, failures, and
disappointments.  Without that ability, you cannot "run your own brain."  

 

So, do you need a cognitive make-over as you start this new year?  Do you
ever- 

           Assume that you know what others are thinking or intending?

           Over-react to a trigger (when someone pushes your buttons)?

           Assess probabilities incorrectly so you think your chances are
higher than they actually were?

           Test hypotheses inefficiently?

           Violate your own values and premises?

           Let irrelevant contexts affect your choices?

           Ignore alternative hypothesis when evaluating data?

           Display information-processing biases that blind you to a
situation?

           Are absolutely sure about something and then get surprised?

           Find it difficult to solve the problems of everyday life?

           Struggle in figuring out how connect with someone or influence
someone?

 

Where there are poor thinking habits, there are all sorts of other things
that happen that make life miserable- broken marriages, ruined friendships,
tricked by a  mortgage lending scandal, caught off-guard by an economic
bust, surprised by a technological accident, deceived by a pyramid sales
scheme or a telemarketing fraud, fall for religious fanaticism, psychic
scams, etc.  All sorts of unpleasant, and even disastrous, things happen
when we fail to effectively think through things or do effective information
processing.

 

Now the good news is that the way you've been thinking up until now does not
have to continue to govern the way you think.  You can change your mind, you
can renew your mind, you can get a cognitive make-over and get upgrades on
all of your current thinking styles and patterns.  And it is not as
difficult as it might seem at first glance.  It is what we do in NLP.  It is
what we do in Neuro-Semantics and especially in Meta-States.  It is our
speciality.

 

 

 

 

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D., Executive Director 

Neuro-Semantics 

P.O. Box 8

Clifton, CO. 81520 USA                             

               1 970-523-7877 

                    Dr. Hall's email:
<mailto:meta at acsol.net\hich\af31506\dbch\af31505\loch\f31506> meta at acsol.net


    cid:261CED33-4408-4124-862B-B9A4B37A367A

    

 

Dr. L. Michael Hall writes a post on "Neurons" each Monday.  For a free
subscription, sign up on www.neurosemantics.com.   On that website you can
click on Meta-Coaching for detailed information and training schedule.   To
find a Meta-Coach see  <http://www.metacoachfoundation.org>
www.metacoachfoundation.org.   For Neuro-Semantic Publications --- click
"Products," there is also a catalog of books that you can download.   .   To
un-subscribe--- write to  <mailto:meta at acsol.net> meta at acsol.net 

 

 

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