There was a noontime broadcast this week for Chicago’s current heroes – the team that won US Little League Champs, Jackie Robinson West – that reminded me of the worst trait of commentators.  Their inane blather to fill the air while we wait for the event, or the next stage of the event.  I’ve only watched Netflix or streamed shows on the computer for the past year and so I had forgotten.  But then it made me think of something else that I think is interesting.

There are parts of the brain that keep up a running commentary – did you remember to bring your phone, haven’t made an appointment to get your teeth cleaned yet, oops your cousin’s birthday is coming up.  This is the part of the brain that sometimes doesn’t want to cool it so you can sleep.  The part of the brain that spews your self-talk.

Notice how my brain commentary examples are slightly or definitely of a negative bent?  Your failings – real and potential – on a permanent loop inside your head.  Yippee.  Or how about; so busy, can’t keep up, busy, busy, busy.

sometimes my thoughts resemble my niece’s zendoodle

All of it just about as useful as the filler from those news commentators.

Do you ever stop and listen to these thoughts looping through your head?  Somewhere in the past few years I did start to realize how unhelpful these thoughts usually are and started to challenge them.  When the thought ‘you can’t do that’ came up I asked why not.  When they said ‘busy, busy’ I asked how productive.  And so on.

Not every day, but regularly enough that I think it has made a difference.  Of course sometimes I have to agree because I really do need to make that appointment for the dental cleaning and my cousin’s birthday is coming up fast.  Now if I could just get the thoughts to look up the number for the dentist and make the call.

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Tagged: Learning, Problem solving, Thinking