E37 Helpful vs. Unhelpful Thinking Patterns: How to Use the Mental Models in a Healthy Way

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project

Guest: Dona E. Locke, Ph.D., Neuropsychologist | Mayo Clinic – Arizona

 

How we think about ourselves and the world, is what shapes how we experience the world. Not only does it shape our experience, but our thinking is one of the main drivers that determines our success in every avenue of life. Much of our thinking can be helpful for propelling us forward towards our goals, but so much of our thinking is actually UNHELPFUL and prevents us from achieving our goals. To help us take charge of our thinking and use it for good, our expert today is Dr. Dona Locke.

 

The three big questions we are going to answer are:

1. What exactly are “thinking patterns”, and how do we distinguish between those that are helpful and unhelpful?

2. Why do we commonly default to unhelpful patterns of thinking?

3. What steps can we take to start using helpful thinking patterns and mental models to help us achieve our goals?

How to start a Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project “Pod-Club”: Step 1: Find 2-30 friends who want to get better Step 2: Choose your episodes (can be focused on specific themes or random) Step 3: Listen to/watch the episodes Step 4: Meet with your group to work through the provided discussion questions in the PDF for each episode, and feel free to add your own! Step 5: Celebrate the fact that you are turning passive knowledge into action!

 

Discussion Questions for this Episode: 

1) How do you personally define “helpful” and “unhelpful” thinking patterns? How does this relate to your prior conception of “positive vs. negative” thoughts?

2) What are some of the key characteristics that separate “helpful thinking” from “unhelpful thinking?”

3) What is an area of your life where you tend to experience “unhelpful thinking patterns?” Why do you think this is the case, and what are some of the negative impacts that result?  

4) If you were able to shift your perspective from “positive vs. negative” thinking to “helpful vs. unhelpful” thinking, what benefits do you think you would experience?

5) Do you think recognizing your thinking as “helpful” vs. “unhelpful” will be easy or challenging? Go around your group and ask everyone if this will be easy or hard for them. Then, ask why?

6) Once you are able to recognize certain thoughts as “unhelpful”, what strategies will you use to move on and not perseverate on them (think about the strategies offered in section three of this episode).

7) Tell your group at least one new thing (action step) you are going to do or behavior you are going to adopt to improve your thinking as a result of this episode?

8) After others list the "one new thing" of "action step" they are going to do, help them refine that to make it more: clear, objective, measurable, and simple. The more we can make our actions clear, objective, measurable, and simple, the more likely we are to do them and enjoy the process!

 

Learn more about the Human Optimization Project at: https://ce.mayo.edu/optimize X: @MayoHumanOpProj Instagram: @MayoHumanOpProj YouTube: The Human Optimization Project - YouTube

Email: [e-mail]