Think Thursday: The Power of the Pause to Think on Purpose
Hey, welcome to think Thursday from the Alcohol Minimalist Podcast. Think Thursday is all about your beautiful, brilliant human brain. We're talking neuroscience. We're talking behavior change. We are talking about your mindset.
Molly Watts:Are you ready to get started? Let's go.
Speaker 2:Well, hello, and welcome to Think Thursday from Alcohol Minimalist. This podcast episode is dedicated to neuroscience and brain health and your mindset. And today, especially, if you are feeling a bit unsettled by recent events this week, like the US presidential election, then I hope that today's episode really serves you. Maybe you've been caught up in anxious thoughts or you're feeling a little helpless or frustrated wondering what all this means for the future. And I wanna talk to you about a concept that can help us handle times like these with more calm and resilience, which we've talked about, well, last week on Think Thursday and even on Monday's episode.
Speaker 2:This idea that I wanna talk to you about today is the idea of thinking on purpose and, more specifically, harnessing the power of the pause to create space between what's happening around us and how we respond to it. When the world feels turbulent, like during a high stakes election, our brains can easily switch to default thinking. We can get really caught in stream of automatic thoughts. And for many of us, those thoughts are overwhelmingly anxious or pessimistic or focused on worst case scenarios. And I get it.
Speaker 2:I've been there too. We're all trying to make sense of what's happening, and that constant flow of, like, 60 to 80,000 thoughts a day can get really overwhelming. Right? But if we let those thoughts just run unchecked, we can end up in a spiral feeling more and more stressed and helpless than ever. And that's really where thinking on purpose comes in.
Speaker 2:Thinking on purpose means choosing our thoughts rather than letting our minds just run on autopilot. It's about using our brains in a way that serves us, especially during times of stress and maybe, like, after an election that may not have gone gone the way that you hoped for. Right? One of my favorite quotes on this topic is from Viktor Frankl, and he wrote, between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response.
Speaker 2:In our response lies our growth and our freedom. This quote quote reminds us that no matter what's happening around us, we have the power to choose how we respond. There is space, small at first, between the stimulus, like news about the election, and our response. And in that space, we have choices. That's where our freedom lives.
Speaker 2:Here's the truth. In moments of stress, the space between what happens to us and how we respond can feel incredibly small. Our primitive brain, the part that wants to protect us from threats, tends to jump in and react. And even though we're not actually in physical danger, our brain can't always tell the difference. It might see the election news as a threat to our self-concept, our values, and our sense of security.
Speaker 2:Rick Hansen, a neuropsychologist, calls this paper tiger paranoia. Our brain reacts as if we're dealing with a saber tooth tiger when in reality, it's just news on a screen. And in these moments, that small space of choice can disappear quickly if we're not really intentional. But with practice, we can expand that space and find more calm and clarity. And one of the best tools that I think I have at least is something that I call the PB and J.
Speaker 2:Now I know what you're thinking. PB and J like the sandwich? Well, yes. Exactly. But this p b PB and J stands for pause, breathe, and just ten minutes.
Speaker 2:I created it initially as a way to help people navigate urges about from alcohol. Right? But it's just as powerful for handling any kind of stress or emotional reaction like the ones that many of us are feeling right now about the election. So let's break it down. The first step, p.
Speaker 2:P in the p b and j stands for pause and ponder. Pausing is critical because it helps us interrupt interrupt that initial wave of automatic thoughts. We don't just want to react and go down the same old mental paths of anxiety, fear, or anger. Pausing gives us that split second to recognize what's happening and create space. This pause is more than just stopping for a moment.
Speaker 2:It's about choosing to stop, to step back, and to observe our own thinking. Right? That is a metascale, metacognition. We humans are capable of observing our own thoughts. When we pause, we can start to calm our reactive primitive brain and begin to engage that prefrontal cortex that is responsible for our thoughtful, logical, goal oriented future decisions.
Speaker 2:The next step in the PB and J is breathe. Now this might sound simple, and I've talked about deep breathing, and I talked about deep breathing last week on Think Thursday, but it's important and and and incredibly powerful for calming our nervous system. When we take a few deep breaths, we send a message to our brain that we are safe. And in that moment, our brain starts to shift out of fight or flight mode. You can try it with me right now again.
Speaker 2:Take a deep breath in. Take it in through your nose. Four. Inhale for 4. +1 234.
Speaker 2:Hold for 7. 567, and breathe out. 234-5678. That's 478. Feel your body start to relax even just a little.
Speaker 2:When you're breathing deeply, you're able to observe your thoughts rather than just be swept away by them. Let's say you see some news related to the election that's really bothering you. Maybe it makes you worry about the future or feel frustrated. In this moment, if you can pause and take just three deep breaths, you're giving yourself space to engage your higher brain and think on purpose rather than just reacting automatically. The j in PB and J stands for just ten minutes, And this is especially when helpful when we're dealing with a really powerful emotion or a strong urge to react immediately.
Speaker 2:We often feel like we have to do something right now, whether that's doom scrolling on social media, sending a reactive text, or letting ourselves spiral into anxious thoughts. But by telling ourselves to wait just ten minutes, we're giving ourselves permission to let the feeling be there without acting on it. Often intense emotions like anger, frustration, or anxiety start to fade if we allow ourselves a little space to process, even just observing and allowing and not trying to change it. Right? That space, that pause is so powerful.
Speaker 2:During those ten minutes, you might find it helpful to ask yourself, what do I really want right now? What response will help me feel calm and will align with my values? These questions help us shift out of a reactive mode and into a more intentional empowered mindset. Another tool that can help create space between stimulus and response is something called that, you know, coaches call a thought download. When we are overwhelmed by anxious thoughts, especially when we're tied to like, they're tied to big external events like an election, it can feel like we are literally at the mercy of everything that's going on around us.
Speaker 2:But doing a thought download helps us get these thoughts out of our head and onto paper where we can look at them with a bit of distance. A thought download is really simple. Just grab a notebook or open up your notes app on your phone and write down everything that's on your mind about the election or whatever else is causing you stress. Do not censor yourself. Don't judge your thoughts.
Speaker 2:This is literally just about observing and getting them down. When we get our thoughts down on paper, we can see them as data or sentences in our brain. And then we can ask ourselves, are these thoughts helping me? Are they moving me forward? Are they allowing me to respond thoughtfully?
Speaker 2:If not, we have the power to let them go and choose new thoughts that support us better. I really like to visualize Viktor Frankl's words, that space he describes between stimulus and response. Imagine that space is something real as a tangible buffer that you can create whenever you need it. Picture that buffer in your mind whenever you feel overwhelmed by the news, a social media post, or a conversation about the election. That space is yours to fill with a pause, with a breath, with a little time to reflect.
Speaker 2:And it's in that space that we find our freedom to choose our response and to ask ourselves questions like, what else is true about this situation? And what do I really want to focus on? When we create this pause, it's not just about holding back from reacting. It's also a space for compassion. Compassion for ourselves as humans navigating a difficult time, compassion for others who may have a different perspective, and clarity about really what matters to us.
Speaker 2:The pause creates room for all of this, and this is where true resilience is built. I want to encourage you to practice the PB and J, this week and during the upcoming next you know, during the holidays. It's coming. All of it's coming. Right?
Speaker 2:This end of the year is here, and we've got a lot of opportunities to practice navigating stressful, anxious, worrisome, fearful times. And the next time that you're feeling anxious or frustrated by the news, by social media, or anything else, pause and ponder. Take a few deep breaths. And before you allow yourself to react, if it's if it's a response and an urge, allow yourself just ten minutes before you do anything. If your mind feels crowded, try a thought thought download.
Speaker 2:Let all those thoughts out onto paper and give yourself the space to decide if they are serving you or if it's time to let them go and choose something else. The more we practice, the more natural this pause becomes. This is how we start thinking on purpose instead of by default. It's where we find freedom to show up as our best selves even when the world feels a little chaotic. Alright.
Speaker 2:That's all I have for you today on ThinkThursday. Here's to creating space, managing our minds, and finding calm amidst a noisy world. Take care. I will talk to you soon. I'll see you on Monday.
