I can't think about that right now...

I used to think that how the brain spoke to us was through words - as if it was trying to have a conversation.

But now, I’ve realized that its not that way at all.

You see the mind is tricky - it knows that when it’s speaking to you slowly, it has the chance of being interrupted. It knows that it runs the risk of giving you enough of a gap to interrupt, and it doesn't like that!

So to prevent disruptions from happening, what it does instead is it tries to speak faster.

It speaks faster by not having a full conversation using words, but by simply making you recall ideas, feelings, and experiences. It brings up scenes from your past, it reminds you of things on your to do list, and it conjures up conversations you've had before.

What does it gain by doing this? Well, the brain still gets what it wants, because it ultimately wants you to feel a certain way. It knows that by bringing up these images, it can get a direct shortcut to the overall outcome, which is to change your current mood and how you're relating to the world right now.

Sometimes it can be a feeling of guilt or dread, and other times it can be memories that bring you happiness and joy.

But that's the thing - that's how it gets you hooked. It mixes in the good with the bad to keep you entertained.

There's a common technique we use to train dogs that's called the Lottery System. The way it works, is that instead of feeding your dog treats each time they behave in the desired way, you change it up.

Sometimes you give them a treat, sometimes you don't give them a treat at all, and other times you reward them with the jackpot of many many treats!

What this does is it keeps the dog guessing. It keeps the game fun! They don't know whether they're going to get a treat, and sometimes they get more than they could ever imagine!

Unfortunately, our minds are training us in the same way. Read: We’re the dog!

Sometimes nothing comes from the thoughts that we have, sometimes its bad memories that we have to endure, but then, sometimes, ever so often, we hit the jackpot. We get a flush of memories that puts us in the perfect mood, and life feels great again.

That's how our minds keep us addicted to thinking.

Well, you might think - is this so bad? Life is about experiencing all the joys and emotions that comes with it right? Including both the ups and the downs.

I've been trying to answer this question myself lately. Some people would tell you that our thoughts keep us detached from reality, that our thoughts keep us stuck in the past or the future, but never the present.

I can see truth to that. Sometimes the situation can get so bad, that I'm just tired of thinking about anything! I yearn for the moments where I can just turn off the brain so that I can get some rest and relaxation.

Other days, I thinking has been useful at keeping me prepared. It’s been useful to have (a little bit of) anxiety, so that I’m not acting complacent and am taking future challenges seriously.

But overall, after experimenting with allowing myself to think and actively stopping myself from doing so, I think the former is definitely the way to go.

When I’m able to quiet those thoughts and memories, I feel as though the fog in my head is slowly lifting. Like I’m seeing things for the first time. And even when it’s something I need to ‘actively’ think about, I feel as though I’m not investing too much emotion in the decision and thought process.

I’m doing just enough thinking to get to the right answer, and sometimes I’m even getting ideas of new ways of approaching it.

By the way, the method I’ve been using which seems to work well is interrupting the mind when it’s trying to do tell me something totally not helpful! I just say to myself, “I can’t think about that right now…”, which seems to give me a little bit of a breather.

But just a word of caution, because you might find yourself saying that line every 3 seconds because that’s how active our minds are.

Bear with me, because I’m still experimenting here, but hey that’s what keeps it interesting right?