One of the most interesting aspects of the human mind is that it can create its content. Such creations can take the form of thoughts and images. Furthermore, this process of creating them can be spontaneous and deliberate. So we will consider here all four combinations, starting with spontaneous thinking.

Spontaneous thinking: mulling over

Remember fast and slow thinking? You can repeat the experiment: close your eyes and count to 100. You will probably notice that, while you are counting, many thoughts are popping up into your mind spontaneously. This is going on all the time, not only when you are counting. Most of them come and go quickly but some can become circular and intrusive so it is a good idea to know what to do if this happens.

Keeping in check intrusive, obsessive thoughts

Avoid enforcing them by emotions. Such thoughts feed on emotional energy, so if you get upset or anxious about them, they will only get stronger. Suppressing them won’t work – accept and ignore them instead. If this doesn’t work, try the following:

• Reach some sort of resolution (make a decision, do or change something, accept, understand, forgive).
• Find something that could absorb you (e.g. puzzles) and focus on whatever you are experiencing or doing.
• Postpone your rumination (say to yourself: ‘ok, I will think about this between 7 and 7.30 this evening’).
• Externalise your thoughts through talking or writing (some evidence shows that the writing is even more effective if you throw it away afterwards)(1).

Reasoning is an ability to make assessments and judgements, draw conclusions, and form views and ideas. This capacity depends on our ability to hold several pieces of information in awareness and connect them in a way that is helpful to deal with an issue or situation. Our own inertia and preferences conspire against it though, so we will start by addressing lazy and biased thinking first, and then we will turn to objectivity and realistic thinking.

Lazy thinking

Reasoning can be seen as agility or fitness of the mind, which means that it can be strengthened through practice: the more you exercise your reasoning the better you will be at it. Moreover, as physical exercise makes our bodies firmer and nicer, exercising our reasoning capacity makes our thoughts nicer and more elegant. If we don’t do so, the opposite happens – we backslide into lazy thinking. These are some examples of lazy (sloppy) thinking:

• Over-generalising: making general judgements on the basis of limited experience or a few instances of a situation (e.g. misusing never, always, or all as in ‘He never does the dishes, it is always me!’, ‘All politicians are crooks’).
• Impulsiveness: jumping to conclusions without checking (e.g. ‘mind reading’ or ‘fortune telling’: assuming that you know what somebody is thinking or what she will say or do).
• Selective exposure: exposing ourselves only to information which we know beforehand is likely to support what we already believe (e.g. a right-wing person who reads only right- wing newspapers or relies only on right-wing websites).
• Rigidity: unwillingness to consider alternatives to an initial judgement or conclusion.
• Over-simplifying: as in the case of black-and-white thinking (e.g. vilifying one side of a conflict and glorifying the other).

Learning is so important that we are all born with a love for learning. You don’t need to nudge babies to learn, they just love it! However, this urge may be distorted in time, like our eating habits – we don’t always learn what is good for us, but learn junk instead. So let’s see how we can keep the flame of love for learning alight. Some tips for improving your memory will be suggested too, but let’s start with considering various learning styles.

Learning styles

There are four learning styles:

Theoretical learning is indirect mental learning. Indirect means that you learn from books and others. What distinguishes this mode from simple memorising is understanding. Understanding requires active engagement (questioning, clarifying, etc.), an enquiring mind and interest in the subject. This is easier if you relate the new to what you already know (make connections!).

Intuitive learning is direct physical learning – you learn by experience. Learning how to ride a bike is an example. Of course, others can help you and encourage you while you are doing so, but you have to figure out yourself how to keep your balance. This is why intuitive learning often involves trial and error (you may fall down a few times before you get the knack).

Practical learning is indirect, physical learning. You learn to do something from others or manuals (e.g. learning to drive). It is most useful when knowledge gained this way becomes mainly unconscious and instinctive. This is achieved through practising.

Moods are states or frames of mind with a global effect on our thoughts, behaviour and feelings. So, although moods can have a specific trigger, they are essentially an unfocused state without an object. Some moods are pleasant (e.g. feeling happy, enthusiastic, powerful, etc.) and some are unpleasant (e.g. feeling depressed, moody, despondent, melancholic etc.). We
can’t fully control our moods, but we are not completely powerless in this respect either. Research suggests that ‘individuals who believe that negative moods can be relieved through their own actions are more likely to engage in problem-focused coping strategies and less likely to report depression and somatic complaints.’(1) So in this area we will consider what we
can do in this respect.

Why moods matter

Good moods have a positive effect on mental and physical health, work and relationships. Some unpleasant moods may be useful too. They can make you re-evaluate your situation and initiate change. They can also bring you closer to yourself and help you discover some personal depths. However, some moods can be troublesome especially if they are too intense or last too long. Even pleasant ones can have some negative effects (e.g. they can leave an impression of superficiality or reduce our capacity to connect and empathise with others). Your mood can also affect how you see your situation: we tend to perceive or interpret the situation in such a way as to match our mood (i.e. if you are in a bad mood, you are likely to see your situation in that light).(2) Furthermore, we tend to attract situations that will confirm our mood. So negative moods tend to attract negative situations that, in turn, reinforce our moods – which can become a vicious circle. The longer this goes on, the more energy and persistence is needed to alter it, so let’s see how our moods can be addressed.

The first step: awareness and acceptance

Ignoring or running away from our mood is sometimes tempting but it doesn’t do the trick. Moods affect us even if we do not pay attention to them. It is observed that ‘although our moods may often escape our attention… they can nonetheless subtly insinuate themselves into our lives’.(3) So recognising and acknowledging that we are in a particular mood may be better. This can help us locate the