I’ve said it before, and this week, we will revisit the idea in this episode.
Our brains love patterns.
You’ve probably experienced this somehow but may have yet to make the connection.
You discover a new song, a car, a phrase, and over the next few days or weeks, you begin to hear or see that thing everywhere. As much as we might like to think this has something to do with us, it doesn’t. This item, car, or song has less to do with the object and more with our attention. This is a concept better known as frequency bias or the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon.
Frequency Bias/Illusion aka Baader-Meinhof phenomenon
Psychology Today says, “…a cognitive bias in which someone learns a novel word or concept—and then ‘suddenly’ encounters it everywhere, whereas in fact, it is just more salient because it has been recently observed. “
There is so much happening around us daily that our brains cannot keep up with it all.
So how does this work?
When we pay special attention to a specific car, our brains are primed to spot it later. If we study or read up on a new concept, we will see other examples of the idea in our daily lives.
Looking for Patterns
What if we took this same idea and applied it to our thoughts?
What if you began to see and become more aware of your thinking patterns?
If we are trying to get to the root of the problem, we must learn to recognize unhealthy patterns of thought that lead to behaviors. As we begin to recognize these patterns, we can work on changing our default behavior.
Last week, we began writing down our negative thoughts in 24 hours. In this episode, we will take a closer look at those notes. As you look over them, do you see any patterns emerge?
If we want to change these patterns of behavior, we first need to be able to recognize them. Completing exercises that allow us to see and recognize our patterns will take time and effort. If you are willing to do the work, this will help you see themes and begin connecting the dots.
Connecting the Dots
Our brains constantly try to make sense of our circumstances and the world around us. Sometimes, the brain makes incorrect assumptions based on the information at hand. These assumptions are stored in memory, and we take action based on them.
The question I bet you are asking is, what happens when our assumptions are wrong?
For many people, unhealthy seeds begin to take root. The more that we reinforce or water these unhealthy assumptions, the stronger they grow.
The longer these ideas are reinforced, the more intentional effort it will take to change them.
Verse for Reflection
“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.” Philippians 4:8
Source
[1] Fileta, D. (2023). Reset. Harvest House Publishers.
