I heard you ask, “But, what about when my thinking is rational and useful and I am using my thoughts to do my work/plan something/make a decision?”

Sometimes it’s useful to think about the accuracy of your thinking. Sometimes it’s not. Much of your thinking is simply not referential to your external world.

Instead of considering the accuracy of the thought, a more useful question to ask is whether your thoughts are actually working for you.

• Are your thoughts taking you to where you want to go in life?

• Do your thoughts contribute to your success?

It’s likely that your thinking is working for you and contributing to your success in life when you are planning/making decisions or working with your mind.

But there will be many times when your mind is thinking automatically and habitually, and this thinking is likely not working for you.

Ask yourself:

Does this thinking take me closer to or further away from what I want to achieve in life?

Is this thinking/feeling/behaviour working for me?

What you can do:

• Notice when a familiar thought, feeling or behaviour happens.

• Where does this behaviour take you in a specific context?

• What follows the behaviour?

This is a lot of noticing…