Key Points
- Neuroscientists have found we have between 50,00 and 70,000 thoughts per day. Where do they all go? All of that information that we have been processing, since infancy, has been stored in different parts of our brain, connected by the hippocampus. We call this our Subconscious mind, and it acts like a data storage device that cannot be erased, unless there is physical damage to the brain.
- All the thoughts we have collected, from family, friends, co-workers, people who are important to us, we took in as fact. In actuality, a majority of that information wasn’t fact, but opinions we took as fact. Once we accepted, or gave sanction to these opinions, they became facts. We believed them, correct or not, and they became a part of how we define ourselves.
- Like the triangle exercise, we want to be careful of who we listen to. If we lock on to wrong information, our RAS builds a scotoma (blind spot) and blocks out anything contrary to the original belief. It does the same thing if we lock on to the right information. The RAS only goes looking for information that confirms the belief. Either way, we run the risk of missing something.
- Once we lock on to one way of thinking, we lock out – our RAS builds a scotoma to – anything that doesn’t match. We just don’t see it. This is also our mind making sure we stay the same, reinforcing “reality” or “sanity” (truth) for us. This self-regulation can be beneficial because our external actions are reflections of our internal beliefs. As in the Cliff Young example, the absence of the “truth” allowed Cliff to win an ultra-marathon.
- Our beliefs sit at the very foundation of our self-image, which controls our behaviors in the world. If we see things as opportunities to grow and learn, our outlook will be optimistic. If we see the world as a tough place and people are selfish and untrustworthy, our outlook is going to be pessimistic.
- Are we stuck with these beliefs forever? Not if we don’t want to be. Remember, at the very foundation of our beliefs are our thoughts. Those thoughts accumulate to become beliefs. So, if we change our thoughts, then we should be able to change our beliefs. We can write over those old files in our mental hard drive, and get more effective results from our thought process.
- We think in pictures, caused by the words we use, either consciously or unconsciously. So, if we change the words, we change the picture. If we can change the picture, then we change the way we look at life and the results we get. This is how we will change old, tired and no longer valid beliefs, allowing us to create our future.
Key Concepts
- Belief – an emotional acceptance of a proposition, statement or doctrine. Our beliefs become the foundation for our actions and behaviors, and form the core of who we believe we are and what we can do in the world.
- Lock-on / Lock-out – when we lock-on to an opinion, belief or attitude as being the truth about something, we build scotomas to, or lock-out, contrary or different information. This is a defense mechanism that helps us to survive and provides security, but it also works against us when the ability to change and be flexible are needed.
- Reality – all that forms what an individual believes to be real. It is our perceptions and assessments of our environment and how they go together with our culture and values. We are aware of our environment and our need to accommodate to the demands of that environment.
- Sanity – soundness of mind and judgement. A mental state whereby we are able to function on a day-to-day basis with the world around us.
- Scotoma – blindness or blind spot; a sensory blocking out of information from our environment, leaving limited perceptions. We create scotomas to situations and things in the world around us, because of our preconceived beliefs and ideas.
Application & Review Questions
Download the interactive PDF and save to your hard drive. Then, take time to reflect on the Application & Review Questions and answer them in relation to the concepts presented apply to your own life.
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Giving Sanction
When we are little children, growing up, we count on the adults around us to help us learn. In addition to helping us learn about the world and our place in it, they keep us safe. (It is no accident that one of a child’s first words is likely to be “No” – right after “ma-ma” and “da-da.”) Knowing this, we look at the important adults in our lives as authorities – what they say, goes. We treat everything they say as fact and do not realize that most of what we hear is opinion, even though it is given with our best interests at heart.
As we get older, and our brain and thought processes mature, it takes some focused attention and reflection on our part to begin to question what we hear from others. We want to question everything we read and hear. News outlets have multiplied exponentially in nearly every country on the planet. Finding those trusted sources, those vetted authorities, is a bigger challenge than ever before. However, to be a fully-realized adult able to make informed decisions, it’s our job to separate fact from opinion.
So-called “experts” are everywhere. Here are some examples of opinions some people pronounced as fact in their day:
- “Man will never reach the moon regardless of all future scientific advances.” (Dr. Lee DeForest, “Father of Radio & Grandfather of Television”)
- “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” (Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM, 1943)
- “I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won’t last out the year.” (Editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957)
- “But what is it good for?” (Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip.)
- “We don’t like their sound and guitar music is on the way out.” (Decca Recording Co., rejecting the Beatles, 1962)
- “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” (Ken Olson, President, Chairman and Founder, Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977)
We’ve been to the moon and are, one day soon, heading to Mars. The mobile phones we have in our pockets have more computing power than what delivered the astronauts to the lunar surface. Innovation is moving faster than ever before in human history. If we give sanction to limiting opinions and take them as facts, our beliefs are affected and our behavior follows.