Page 41 - SILFlip

prioritize going indoors if our thinking tells us we are in for a storm and we should hind shelter. If we are driving and need to change course to avoid trafhic we think about changing our course. If we are at work and we are approached by a co-worker we would rather not have to deal with we might start thinking of excuses that get us out of having to deal with them (“Look at the time, I have to prep for a meeting in Kive minutes. Gotta run.”)
Thinking is a process that mediates the interactions between the internal world and the external world; and I am saying that one characteristic of thinking is that it goes from an automatic process (“I am not trying to think of anything, my thoughts are just happening.”) to a purposeful process (“Something is happening and I have to think about how to address it.”)
The automatic nature of thinking arises from associations our brains are constantly pitching us in the waking task of “managing the self” in the present moment. Some people are very tuned in to what they are thinking about, and some people are blissfully unaware of what they are thinking about and some people actively avoid thinking about things that they should be spending a bit more time thinking about. We also have to take into consideration what we prioritize when we are thinking. Worry is a good example of what happens when negative thinking takes a high priority in our “active thinking space.” The kind of thinking that is most relevant to what I am trying to share is thinking about the dedication and work of sustaining partnership. It’s a thought process called “metacognition” or thinking about thinking.
Staying in Love: Secret Recipes For Making Love Last 41