How many things do you do in your day that require new thinking and how many are comfortable, familiar or only somewhat challenging? 

Most of us think we prefer the familiar because it’s more relaxing.  I often find the opposite to be true. When I don’t feel challenged or “used up” (as George Bernard Shaw would say), I find that my energy dissipates, my attention wavers and it’s harder to focus, and after an extended period of relaxation, I am wanting to return to more stimulating thoughts and actions.

I’m sure a neuroanatomical approach on rote thinking would prove slowed brain waves and maybe even misfires between cortex responses, however, I’m not an expert in the area of brain stimulation to improve cognitive decline, although the Internet abounds in these topics (including several exercise your brain) sites.

But wouldn’t it be valuable to question assumptions, dispel myths, and learn to distinguish inherited thoughts from your own original thoughts?  Wouldn’t it be beneficial to form your own views based on your experiences and inner wisdom and to be a thought leader, if only in your life, rather than a consumer most of the time?  This is one of the reasons I created my program (Positive Thinking Way) to quickly assess your old beliefs that have contributed to negative or stuck behaviors (based on the Lefkoe Method).  It helps you to stop the old ways of thinking and behaving , rather than let those same limiting patterns repeat. 

I also recognize that it takes effort on your own to move out of stale thinking habits and challenge information with questions–to think thoughts– but in forming a habit to do this more frequently, you don’t have to spend time backpaddling or even pushing yourself forward, and the final rewards are reflected in the quality of your actions.

Tags: brain stimulation, challenging assumptions, original thinking, personal challenge, stale thinking, thinking rut

This entry was posted on Friday, September 18th, 2009 at 4:04 pm and is filed under Personal and Professional Growth. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.