Written by: Carla Marcos López, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
We should start by defining critical thinking as being the analysis of statements, facts or observations to make a rational assessment. In the classical period of Ancient Greece, the philosopher Plato referred to the teachings of Socrates as the earliest records of critical thinking. Just like Socrates, we can use our critical thinking by self-correcting habits of the mind that can get in the way of logic and rationality, and which prevent us from making a proper assessment of a situation, thus getting in the way of achieving happiness and goals.
As much as I would like to give you 5 bullet points that could change your life forever, make you successful in business and relationships, rid you of your depressive states and anxious patterns, remove all remaining trauma, help you be the best leader/partner/parent/friend you can possibly be, and have a joyful life in which you could fulfil your purpose…have your cake and eat it!…you name it! I am afraid that this is not possible, since no bullet point list will ever be able to encapsulate the vastness and diversity of human experience.
Please bear with me and my non-directive therapeutic approach, because it works! Just go with the flow, and I promise to give you a little list at the end :)
The aim of my articles is to help you, my dear readers, in the same way that I help my clients. I hope that you can leave this article feeling better, just as if you were leaving my online consulting room after a hypnotherapy session.
Instead of telling you how you should think and what you should do, I would like to offer you something far, far better. Something that can actually shift your perspective right now, something that is actually very achievable, in order to create the life that you want for yourself with the help of art, science, hope, truth and love. This can begin right now as we speak, with you embracing your critical thinking from this very moment forward.
What I would really like to do is to help you for real. I am afraid that believing impossible things and striving to achieve unrealistic goals, and then naturally failing to achieve them, increases anxiety and feelings of inadequacy. Yes, some things are indeed impossible, and believing that they are possible can make people ill. I see it all the time in my clinical practice. Clients who keep trying to be seen, heard and understood by others who are either not capable or willing to do so, or clients trying to succeed in a business for which they do not possess the necessary skills.
Too many choices, too many voices, too much stimulus, too much information. All this creates confusion and increased anxiety. We humans have limited power. We are perfectly imperfect, and a lot of our problems come from refusing to recognise our limits. We all make mistakes and we will all need help from others for as long as we live in a human body and have a human mind! Thankfully our lives can be much better directed when we know our limitations, because we no longer waste time or energy on goals that we cannot reach or things we cannot change. Consistently ignoring this truth is the perfect formula for a miserable life.
The good news is that amongst many other wonderful capacities, we humans do have an incredible creative power! Critical thinking which can challenge the status quo. Neuroplasticity. A hunger for learning and improving ourselves and the world around us, and the need for love and to be in caring relationships with others.
Truth seekers out there, open up your mind to new levels of awareness away from the noise and the distractions of a constrained view of reality. Let us harness the power of your mind and your critical thinking and leave black and white thinking behind. Most people believe that their current level of awareness is the only one that exists, but this is not true at all. New paradigms are waiting for you just around the corner. Paradigms that you didn’t even think were possible.
We cannot be perfect but we have plenty of opportunities to live well and thrive. It is possible to find your own path which aligns with your own opinions and personality. There are very effective ways in which you can tap into your inner resources, natural intelligence, common sense and health understanding. What is more, we can stop the noise and mental chatter, get rid of the clutter and redirect our attention with proper mind training.
I am solution focused rather than problem focused, so my question to you is: Do you want to feel good right now?
Yes? Great! So, would you like to know why what other people do does not necessarily work for you? Well, they are not you for a start! They don’t have the same life circumstances, experiences, knowledge, support network, financial resources, goals, motivations, values or beliefs. Presented with a vast array of choices, to make good decisions it is essential that you manage to separate that which serves you from that which doesn’t, whilst at the same time embracing the opportunities that present themselves to you.
For instance, some people will tell you to never give up. But what if you have to give up? Perhaps you need to do something differently because what you are doing at the moment is not working. Sometimes the wisest thing is to give up and redirect yourself towards other goals. Sometimes you lead and challenge, other times it can be nice to be led and choose harmony instead. Sometimes you can grow and keep moving ahead, other times, perhaps you have already arrived and can stop and smell the roses! And, by the way, since a lot of my clients and readers are business owners and to put your mind at rest, I wanted to tell you that I have yet to meet a successful business owner who just manifests (tries to bring something into their life solely through belief) but doesn’t understand the meaning of hard work! ;)
The problem is that our critical thinking can often be obscured by the physiological and psychological responses that arise from increased stress levels. Rather than helping us, too much stress, often fuelled by unrealistic views, stops talent from shining through and from achieving incredible things. This is very counterproductive. So receiving all the information that bombards us daily through the filter of our critical thinking is very important when we are looking to improve our mental and emotional well-being.
Fabulous! And as this article comes to an end, I would like to thank very much for staying with me so far! As promised, let us finish with a big smile and a short list to satisfy the mind’s need for safety, order and control :)
You don’t need to follow the crowd, they are often lost.
Don’t follow the advice of people who have no idea. Even if they have good intentions they might not have a clue of what is right for you, no matter who they are (This includes family and friends. Especially, family and friends!). Most people don’t share with others the most intimate details of their lives, so others are unlikely to know what your real goals or motivations are, and their advice will therefore probably be partial and irrelevant.
Everybody sees the world through their own particular lens based upon to their knowledge and life experiences. Therefore those trying to advise you might not take into account your personal circumstances but just theirs and their own projections.
You are the expert in your life. Learn to trust yourself and follow both your heart and your intellect combined.
And take what resonates from what you see or hear and leave the rest. This also includes my article, of course! :)
If you feel overwhelmed and unable to use your critical thinking to make a proper assessment of a situation, or feel that you have lost the ability to trust your own judgement, just get in touch with me. This is my area of expertise.
I would love to help your talent to shine in its true splendour, reconnect with your inner-compass and help you rediscover your passion as quickly as possible. I use a blend of the most effective psychotherapeutic techniques and hypnosis. You will enjoy the journey wherever it takes you.
Life is ambiguous and uncertain for us all but we are all equipped to deal with this quite comfortably, especially when we are nicely relaxed and in the company of a good guide. That’s me! :)
Carla Marcos López, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Carla Marcos is a Clinical Hypnotherapist who practises Solution Focused Hypnotherapy. Carla helps her clients use their mind to their advantage so that they can find their unique balance, and bring more of what they want into their lives. Alongside her passion for hypnotherapy, Carla is also a lawyer and a qualified nurse. Being a qualified nurse, her delivery as a hypnotherapist combines her knowledge of how the mind works, together with a caring and holistic approach that takes into account the interconnection of body and mind. This, taken together with her lawyer’s solution-focused approach, drives Carla’s enthusiasm to work with her clients and help them achieve their goals in the shortest possible time.
