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3 ideas to unlock your mind's potential
Valeriya Patrei
May 20, 2024
Ever wondered how much of your thinking is on autopilot?
Studies suggest it's most of it.
What you’ll learn today:
The nature of your thoughts,
In what way you can control of them,
Practical strategies to mold your thinking.
This may just be a life-changing lesson for you.
Ready to challenge your mind?
Let’s get started.
Read time: 4.9 minutes
Before we begin: Here’s what you might have missed in the past few weeks…
Which one was your favourite? Just hit reply and let me know! 🫶
Big idea #1: Thinking is habitual.
Studies by neuroscientists and psychologists estimate that 40-95% of our thoughts are habitual.
Even conservatively, if 50% of your thoughts are habitual, half of your thinking runs on autopilot.
Why is this important?
Your mind is continuously conditioned by external influences, such as:
The media you consume (news, social media, etc)
The people you interact with regularly
The environments you spend time in
Without intentional direction, your thinking defaults to negativity because it tends to be the loudest.
Now, the question becomes:
How can one counteract default thinking?
But before we jump into practical strategies, we need to:
distinguish between primary vs. secondary thoughts, and
understand where all of them come from.
Big idea #2: Your random thought is not a reflection of you.
When discussing thinking, it's crucial to distinguish between primary and secondary thoughts.
A primary thought is a random idea that pops into your head, like “What if I fail?”
A secondary thought follows and is shaped by your choice.
For instance, it could be either of the following:
“I probably will. I should just stay in my lane.”
“What if I succeed?”
“If I were to fail, why would I? How can I prevent it?”
Key distinctions:
A primary thought is random.
A secondary thought is your choice.
A primary thought is out of your control.
A secondary thought is in your control.
A primary thought is not a reflection of you.
A secondary thought is a reflection of you.
The 3 choices we make:
(Our secondary thoughts)
Negative thinking
Do you expect me to tell you that negative thinking is awful?
Do you think I’ll ask you to never let it happen?
I won’t tell you that.
Negative thinking isn’t ideal, I agree, but it's normal and it’s natural.
It stems from our evolutionary need to be alert to dangers.
While you can't avoid negative thoughts altogether, you can control how much
time,
attention, and
value you give them.
When a negative thought arises, don't fight it. Acknowledge it, but don’t believe it — it is just a thought, not a fact.
If you think, “I will probably fail, I shouldn’t even try,” realize that it is not the truth. Think of it as a grumpy roommate’s comment.
No need to believe or debate it, just let it be. Then take a few deep breaths and consider steering your thinking in a positive or targeted way instead.
Positive thinking
Positive thinking is when you stop listening to yourself, and start talking to yourself in an encouraging way, much like you would uplift a friend.
For example, think, “What if I succeed?” This focuses on the positive side of any situation.
Remember, where there’s negative, there’s also positive.
Targeted thinking
Anyone who’s ever spoken against positive thinking has implied that worrying about problems can be helpful as it allows you to prevent them.
I see this as a different category: targeted thinking.
Targeted thinking combines an optimistic outlook with problem-solving.
When facing a challenge, ask yourself:
What’s most important right now?
What’s my next right action of integrity?
Think, “If I were to fail, why would I? How can I prevent it?”
Then, act on it.
Remember, primary thoughts are random and not a reflection of you.
Your power lies in your secondary thoughts — choose them wisely.
Big idea #3: Don’t believe it, question it.
What influences your primary thoughts?
Your beliefs.
For example, if you believe you are not worthy, your thoughts will follow that pattern, affecting your feelings, actions, and ultimately, your results.
This cycle reinforces your beliefs and continues the loop.
Two key insights here:
Just because you believe something is true doesn’t mean it is.
If you want to change your circumstances, don’t let your current circumstances limit your beliefs of what you can create in your life.
Consider this:
If you could choose your beliefs about yourself and the world, what would you choose?
Those would be beliefs that work in your favour, wouldn’t they?
Write them down.
3 ways to turn the ideas you wrote into deep-rooted beliefs:
(I gave all of these a try for at least 3 months at different points in my life; the results I was getting improved as promised per above visual.)
1. Journaling
Daily journaling can transform your life.
Here are some prompts to get you started:
What am I grateful for right now?
What makes me successful?
How can I be a better friend/partner/leader?
If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
2. Affirmations
Empowering affirmations repeated enough times will reshape your thinking.
Examples include:
I am worthy.
I attract beautiful things into my life.
I am an extraordinary [friend/partner/leader/parent].
Every time you reaffirm a positive thought, you increase its chances of becoming your default one.
3. Environmental triggers
Your environment greatly influences your beliefs.
Consider:
The content you consume (podcasts, social media, books).
The people you spend time with.
Your physical surroundings.
For more on setting up a successful environment, refer to my detailed discussion here.
The Productivist Challenge: 7-day confidence boost
1. Assess your confidence
Rate your confidence on a scale from 0 (cannot even imagine what confidence feels like) to 10 (confident in every area of life).
Remember, your score is neither good nor bad. The goal is to improve it.
2. Accept and commit
Accept where you are today, and know that confidence is a skill you can develop.
Choose one of the strategies from Big Idea #3 (or a similar one) to commit to for 7 days.
3. Follow through
Commit to your chosen strategy for 7 days.
Treat it as an experiment, even if it feels awkward or uncomfortable.
4. Reassess
On day 7, rate your confidence again.
What changed?
The Productivist Question
What is one belief, thought, or idea that, if I never doubted its truth, would allow me to reach my next level?
Have a wonderful week ahead!
Valeriya
P.S. So happy to welcome all new joiners here! DM me on LinkedIn to say hi!