Thinking: The art of converting electrical ‘impulses’ to ‘waves’ in alpha, beta, theta, and gamma sometimes!
To be able to differentiate thoughts associated with the human brain and consciously control them is the most challenging task for the millennials and Gen-Z. If Gen-X stood on a wooden plank, they believed that the plank was made out of wood, that it is in brown color, and it is a stationary object. On the other hand, if Gen-Y (also known as the millennials) stood on the same plank, they would slightly question the obvious facts; “Is this wood?”, “Is this brown in color?”, “Is the plank moving because the Earth is moving?”. Comparitively, the Gen-Zs thoughts move like, “Is this piece of wood still alive?”, “Is this having more than one hue?”, “ Is this real wood or an imitation?”… While Gen-Y and Gen-Z have one thing in common- to think more than needed! Which is the best Gen then? The answer is- all have their pros and cons respectively! Now the real question is, “How much thinking is recommended, and what is the baseline for overthinking?”
Let us do, what I call a ‘FIT’ (Focus-Intent-Think) activity. Irrespective of which generation we belong to, let us close our eyes and imagine in the next two minutes. Any thoughts at this point are welcome. Now imagine there are three virtual buckets which categorize as Must, Maybe, and Not Now. For the first 30 seconds, categorize the thought into one of these buckets. For the next 30 seconds, pick one of the thoughts from any bucket. The ‘Must’ list comprises of events that need to be dealt with in the present or near future. The ‘Maybe’ list is just a combination of fantasies we wish for to happen, and or the secondary path to handle current scenarios. Whereas the ‘Not Now’ list is a series of thoughts that leads into actions, which we often refer to as ‘the escape mechanism’. Try and focus to pick from the “Must” bucket, but otherwise is fine too. Think about why you have this thought- the intent. The intention behind every action enables one to determine the necessity to perform the action itself. Now, re-think that thought: The pros and cons. The weight on either side of the plank will determine what the most relevant action is. As we practice this activity, we will be able to focus on what is essential at the moment, finish our targets, delete the disturbing thoughts, and balance the brain waves states. Thereby, consciously we are segregating the thoughts in our present to avoid ‘the road not taken!’ in our future…
