Accepting New Ideas

Much of the time when a new idea comes to us, we handle that idea and move on, without ever becoming consciously aware of the process. During the times when we are consciously aware of the process of handling a new idea, we often reject that idea without understanding why we rejected it, or sometimes without even understanding that we did reject it.

How can this be?

To understand this, lets briefly review the mechanics of how our minds work. When a new idea comes to us, it comes into our conscious mind. It can be as a result of our own thinking, or it can be from an outside source. Immediately, and sometimes before the new idea is even properly formed, our sub-conscious mind starts to evaluate that idea.

Now this evaluation is happening in our sub-conscious mind. That means that we are not consciously aware of it, but it is happening anyway.

So how does our sub-conscious mind evaluate an idea, sometimes before the idea is complete, and without us being aware that this is going on. To understand this we need to understand a characteristic of our sub-conscious mind.

Our sub-conscious mind has no ability to reason. If that is so, how can it evaluate a new idea? Well one way is to ask itself, does this new idea fit with what I already 'know'. If it does, then the new idea will not be immediately rejected. If it doesn't then the sub-conscious mind will send a message to the conscious mind to say that this new idea doesn't fit. Usually at this point, the conscious mind will believe what the sub-conscious mind is saying to it, and reject the idea.

There are a number of problems with this. What if the information that the sub-conscious mind is evaluating the new idea against, is wrong?

A common example of this is when a new idea comes into our conscious mind, and our sub-conscious mind starts to evaluate it. The sub-conscious mind says, 'I already know that'. Now that 'I already know that' message is sent to the conscious mind, and what happens then?

Often the conscious mind stops considering the new idea at that point, and moves on to something new. But did the sub-conscious mind really know that it knew that? Maybe sometimes, but often the new idea is not even properly formed yet, so how could the sub-conscious mind be sure that it 'knew' that.

Unfortunately when the conscious mind gets the 'I know that' message, it usually stops receiving or processing the new idea, and that means the opportunity to learn something new is lost.

What can we do about this? How can we interrupt our sub-conscious mind so that it does not stop us learning from new ideas, when we are exposed to them. I suggest that there are two easy ways.

Firstly, when we hear our sub-conscious mind saying 'That doesn't fit', or 'That can't be right', or something similar, we can simply say to our sub-conscious mind 'Thank-you for that information'. This means that we have decided not to act on the message that our sub-conscious mind was sending. Our conscious mind is then free to continue considering, reasoning and thinking about the new idea.

The second thing we can do is ask our conscious mind to think about the new idea in a way it may have not done before. Usually our conscious mind thinks 'Is this idea right?', or 'Is this idea wrong?'. Instead of those questions we could ask 'Could this idea change or improve my life in some way?'.

This allows us to look at a new idea in a completely fresh way, without being influenced by all the things that we have learnt before, or that we already 'know'.

It was Will Rogers who said many years ago that "it's not what people don't know that hurts them. It's what they do know that just ain't so."

Tony McGlinn runs personal development programs, writes and is a personal coach and consultant. You can visit him and subscribe to his newsletter at http://www.MyPowerfulMind.com

---

Anti-Social Behaviors and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Anti-social behaviors are common with ADHD individuals. About 60% of... Read More

The Cultural Narcissist - Lasch In An Age Of Diminishing Expectations

"The new narcissist is haunted not by guilt but by... Read More

What are the 4 Brainwave Patterns and How Do They Effect Your Health

WHAT ARE BRAINWAVES?Every moment of your life your brain is... Read More

I?m Sorry! Blame-Game or Accountability?

A powerful tool for health as we approach the new... Read More

Get Out of Jail Free: Stop Being Defensive

When Marcus and Sally first met they immediately felt like... Read More

The Offspring of Aeolus - On the Incest Taboo

Incest is not such a clear-cut matter as it has... Read More

The Special Secret of Intuition

The limbic systemNerve impulses were known to relay feelings and... Read More

Narcissism, Substance Abuse, and Reckless Behaviours

Pathological narcissism is an addiction to Narcissistic Supply, the narcissist's... Read More

The Attention Spanner

After a long and patient wait in queue, you reached... Read More

Morality As A Mental State

INTRODUCTIONMoral values, rules, principles, and judgements are often thought of... Read More

Panic Attacks: Effective Ways to Cope

Jill is a 21 y/o college student who used to... Read More

Fallacies About the Inner Child

Over the past 10 years I have helped individuals who... Read More

Robotic Bonding Thru Human First Love Memory Replication

Many Science Fiction authors have discussed in many works the... Read More

Are Observations Objective?

On the outset all observations may seem to be objective,... Read More

Emotional Intelligence: The Basics

There's so much talk about emotional intelligence and how it... Read More

An Easy Cure For Math Phobia

Why is it that one person enjoys math, while another... Read More

Lesson Plans that Reach the Multiple Intelligences

American schools have traditionally favored those students who excel in... Read More

Jack the Ripper

At around 3.40am on August 31st 1888, a carter named... Read More

We are in the End Days; Oh, Really Now?

Some think the world is coming to an end, they... Read More

The Diagnosis Myth

Although I risk dissension by doing so, I must say... Read More

A Case for Multiple Intelligences Based Classroom Instruction

Although many high school age students tend to think and... Read More

The Essence of Being Human

What does it mean to be Human? Well if you... Read More

Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) At a Glance

Most narcissists (75%) are men.NPD is one of a "family"... Read More

Balancing Brain Lobes - Mutras

When does consciousness exist? Will the sentient robots being created... Read More

The Iron Mask - The Common Sources of Personality Disorders

Do all personality disorders have a common psychodynamic source?To what... Read More

What Is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a medical condition. It is... Read More

Intuition

I. The Three IntuitionsIA. Eidetic IntuitionsIntuition is supposed to be... Read More

Kids and Lifebooks: Tips for Social Workers

Every child who is adopted from foster care deserves a... Read More

No Picnic In Sight

Upon being diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, I saw the reality... Read More

Parapsychology: Maximizing Effectivity Of Targeted Controlled Remote Viewing Techniques

Individuals with a solid working knowledge of Controlled Remote Viewing... Read More

Hypnotic Myths

Even though hypnosis has been around officially since the 1700s... Read More

Waking Up in the Middle of a Good Dream

When the brain is asleep and in REM dream mode... Read More

Randomness of Human Thought

Random thought Sequence in the Human Mind. I want to... Read More