Metacomprehension

Experts estimate that the average human brain thinks between 60,000 and 80,000 thoughts per day. That’s 2,500 to 3,300 thoughts on average per hour. Thinking about your own thoughts is called Metacomprehension. It’s not something many of us do.

I often compare my mind to my bedroom closet. I put a lot of random things in my closet, books, presents I want to hide from the kids, stuff I’m gathering to donate, etc… And of course my clothes, shoes and accessories. Rarely, and I mean RARELY do I ever clean it out. But, when I do. I am surprised to find a plethora of items, most of which are unnecessary and no longer serve me. If I want to be extremely thorough, I take EVERYTHING out and thoughtfully consider which items are still useful. I divide the useful from the useless , put the useful back in, and eliminate the rest.

Metacomprehension is a lot like clearing out your closet. The best way to do it is to take EVERYTHING out. One amazingly effective way to do is to choose a circumstance. A circumstance is a fact. Like something someone said (their exact words), or a situation that happened (losing a job).

Once you’ve written down the circumstance, you then write down every single thought and feeling you are thinking and having in regards to the circumstance. You may meet with some resistance. Metacomprehension can take a lot of emotional and mental energy. But, once you have written it all out, then you will be able to divide the useful from the useless and face your circumstance from a much clearer place.