Balanced Thinking – Difficult, But Worth It

Balanced thinking allows you to think about the world without using too many filters or moderate distortion. It also helps you stay authentic and not sink into prejudice. Accepting and practicing this type of approach will allow you to put down a wide range of negative elements. These elements involve everything from anxiety to the spirals of discouragement that can sometimes haunt you and weigh you down.

When you hear the word “balance”, several different ideas may appear. One of them is without a doubt the classic image of a person walking on a line, high above the ground, and doing his best not to fall down. They proceed cautiously with skill and patience. They will avoid falling to their deaths. Their balance, far from in their feet, can actually be found in their minds. This picture could not have been more accurate.

The key to control

In our daily lives we are often in the same situation. Our reality is sometimes chaotic, demanding, complex, and even painful. Life is the line and we are the acrobats who must keep our balance so that we do not lose control. Using balanced thinking is the key to achieving this control because, with this mindset, our emotions also find peace. Our “feet” find the right direction that allows us to achieve our specific goals.

However, it is safe to say that achieving this is not an easy task. Our brain works unconsciously and through automatic processes most of the time. These mental shortcuts often stem from biases, limiting attitudes, and rigid arrangements that can often lead us to extremes. Therefore, you have to take control of your own being to find flexibility and the magical balance that can rearrange (almost) everything.

Balanced thinking: finding peace in a sea of ​​uncertainty

A couple of years ago, an interesting study was conducted at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. A group of patients diagnosed with depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) were grouped together. These patients were part of a year-long metacognitive training program. The purpose was concrete as well as challenging: get people to tolerate uncertainty, reduce cognitive distortions, make them reflect on their own thoughts and improve their thought processes.

The result of this study was very positive. So positive that drug doses were reduced in many cases. All this invites us to conclude with the classic phrase “better thoughts lead to a better life”. The use of balanced thinking is therefore a very useful way to invest in oneself, and an immense help in the confrontation of mental patterns that drag us down into black holes. Now, let’s look at what internal processes tend to reduce our quality of life.

Many of our thoughts are distorted

Anxiety, constant worry, and fear work through negative anchors. We apply them almost without noticing it, by focusing on what will happen, on the mistakes we have made in the past, on the worst things we can imagine. This cognitive pattern is often based on a certain type of sophisticated and inflexible mental technique: distorted thoughts. Among these we find the following, which we apply quite often in our daily lives:

• Filtering : We focus our attention on negative details to intensify them.
• Polarized thinking : In our reality, there is no middle ground. Everything is either black or white, good or bad.
• Overgeneralization : From the smallest and most insignificant things, we are capable of drawing enormous and dramatic conclusions.
• Catastrophic views : Nothing good will ever happen. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Whatever you do, it ends in disaster.

• Personalization : Every random event or everything you do, think or say to others has to do with you.
• Emotional reasoning : What you feel is what defines you. If you feel like you’re a failure it’s because you really are a failure.

This is how you can apply balanced thinking

When we consider these thought patterns, some of you may be wondering what you can do to correct them. Do you have to go in the opposite direction and start “thinking positive”? Well, even though it may seem strange, it is not the solution either. It’s not about practicing extreme positivism, or telling yourself that “everything will be fine”.

Starting to apply balanced thinking in everyday life will not only reduce the risk of stress, anxiety, or falling into a depression.

A balanced way of thinking helps you to let go of many inner traps that prevent you from having a fulfilling life. It allows you to love yourself a little more and also to respect the people around you. So, let’s learn to use this kind of thinking.

The keys to using balanced thinking

• Calm: The first step is to stay calm. Sometimes we live in a hurry because we have become accustomed to living automatically. This type of life intensifies the occurrence of “unbalanced” thoughts. That is, to think without reason, let yourself be carried away, without reflecting, without seeing, without appreciating… Slow down and allow yourself a few moments of silence and peace of mind.
• Assumptions : The second step is not to assume so much. Achieving this can be difficult, but it is important. Do your best not to make quick judgments and to put labels on people. Doing so can make things go faster. At the same time, it also increases the chances of making mistakes sharply.

• Self- sabotage: Stop sabotaging yourself. Say “no” to the distortion of reality and to always be a victim. Respect yourself, work on self-image and self-confidence. It will help you see opportunities where you once only saw closed doors.
• Uncertainty : Accept uncertainty. Balanced thinking tolerates uncertainty because it knows that not everything that lies ahead is bad. Either way, if it’s bad, you have the right strategies to face it.
• Reality : Do not distort reality, but  learn to see things as they are. Don’t get obsessed with how you wish things were. Be more receptive and humble.
• Trust : Have more trust in others. Do not exclude those who think differently than yourself. Do not feel better or worse than others. Exercise acceptance and set aside old annoyances.

Balanced thinking requires effort

To conclude, we know that balanced thinking is not an easy thing to practice every day. To do so means to reconstruct your being, to tear down walls, to correct approaches, and to let yourself be a little more “free”. Look at this goal as a daily exercise. Learn to adopt a more calm, receptive and balanced approach.