The Two Minds
“In a very real sense we have two minds, one that thinks and one that feels” – Daniel Goleman, author of the book Emotional Intelligence
In this section, I’d like you to understand more about how your thinking affects your internal state and ultimately your performance. Let’s start by looking at something that psychologists call “The Behavior Cycle”, in the diagram below:
The Behavior Cycle tells us that how we behave and perform is determined by how we think and manage our feelings and emotions. Although we can choose how we respond to our feelings and emotions, we don’t have control over when they arise. The same can be said for thoughts – we aren’t actually aware of most of our thoughts nor are we in control of them. However, we can shape our “thinking patterns”, which can change how we automatically respond to thoughts and challenging situations.
The Two Minds
If I was to ask you what “thinking” is, you might refer to it as activating your brain to solve a problem or to “think through” something.
In his book “Thinking Fast and Slow”, psychologist and Nobel Prize winner, Daniel Kahneman explains that most of our decisions are made using what he calls “System 1” or the automatic, intuitive mind. The logical and analytical mind, which he calls “System 2” is used very little in comparison.
The Analytical or “Thinking Mind”
Kahneman says that when you are doing a Sudoku puzzle or a multiplication problem such as 14 x 12 = ???, you are (mostly) using your analytical mind or System 1. It’s objective and factual, not our previous experiences or beliefs.
Focusing on the words on this page as you read them is a conscious decision. You are directing your conscious attention towards this and only this (although your level of awareness determines how focused you really are). However, how you feel and “think” about what you are reading is not a conscious decision – it’s a predetermined automatic response from your “Subconscious Mind”.
The Subconscious or “Feeling” Mind
The biological reason that the subconscious mind is used to do most of our thinking is about speed and energy efficiency – it’s faster and uses less energy to operate than the conscious mind. Remember that the mind’s primary role is to keep us safe and alive. If the energy-intensive analytical brain was required to do all our “thinking”, we would be unproductive, tired, and we wouldn’t be able to respond quickly if threatened. The subconscious mind is where our memories are stored and the rules for all our mental and physical processes. In fact, neuroscientists say that up to 95 % of our mental and physiological processes are subconscious or automatic. Of course, many of the processes we are simply born with, but most are learned and conditioned over time.
How The Subconscious Mind Works
Neuroscientists are still trying to figure out exactly how the subconscious mind works, but here’s what we do know. The subconscious mind is taking a snapshot of every moment you live (through the window of the conscious mind, where you direct your attention) and storing those memories so it can do the best possible job at predicting what’s going to happen next and protect you from danger if needed. This is why the brain has a “negative bias” and stores negative experiences more than it does good ones, to protect us from them in the future.
You can think of the subconscious mind as a storyteller which creates patterns of thinking using something that’s called “Associative Memory”. I.e., if a situation was dangerous in the past, it will automatically respond to prepare you for it if you are there again. If it was joy that you experienced, then that situation (or memory of it) can trigger that same feeling/emotion by “association” (i.e., it’s the subconscious mind that “feels”). In other words, what we do, experience and think “consciously” affects how we automatically think and behave in the future.
Take this very simple example of association (from the book “Thinking Fast and Slow”). If you were to see a photo of a dinner table and then you were asked to fill in the blanks of the word “S_ _P”, you are more likely to fill in “SOUP”, than if you were to see a picture of a shower first, in which case you would probably fill in the blanks to create the word “SOAP”.
In this example, because you’ve ingrained the association of bathroom and soap and dinner table and food items (such as soup) many times before, so that connection is made quickly in your subconscious mind without you having to use the analytical mind.
The subconscious is constantly linking memories of the past to interpret the present and create expectations of the future (which it does automatically for all our waking hours).
The fact that the subconscious has the propensity to form habits around our thinking, which can trigger feelings and behaviors means that we must be mindful about what we allow into it. By being selective about the inputs, we will get more of the outputs that are conducive to better performance and wellbeing.
The Conscious Mind is The Gateway to The Subconscious
What we consciously choose to focus on or “think about” can become a pattern, and the more we do it, the more that pattern becomes ingrained and a part of who we are.
An example of conscious thinking that becomes a subconscious thinking pattern or “habit” is driving a car. After consciously learning the correct way to drive a car and obey traffic rules, you do it more and more automatically to the point where it requires very little use of your analytical mind. E.g., When you see your turn approaching, you no longer consciously think to yourself, “I should indicate now, press the brake pedal and start turning the steering wheel”, you just do it. Even though there is “thinking” involved, you are not aware of it happening and you automatically get the physical action of indicating, pressing the brake pedal and turning the steering wheel at the right time. You’ve created a “thinking pattern”.
When we are practicing a physical skill such as golf, we are consciously deciding on what to we focus on as we prepare to hit a shot and during the swing, so that (over time) the correct way to set up and swing becomes more automatic and “subconscious”. The subconscious mind is remembering which neural circuits need to be fired to activate the muscles required to perform a specific movement.
In this book “The Talent Code”, Daniel Coyle says that the more these neural circuits are used, the more they are strengthened by a protein called “Myelin”. He says:
“Every human movement, thought or feeling is a precisely timed electric signal traveling through a chain of neurons – a circuit of nerve fibers. Myelin is the insulation that wraps these nerve fibers and increases signal strength, speed and accuracy. The more we fire a particular circuit, the more myelin optimizes that circuit, and the stronger, faster, and more fluent our movements and thoughts become.”
So whether it’s a physical movement or a way to think, practice doesn’t necessarily make perfect, it makes patterns.
Thinking Patterns
Thinking patterns work in the same way. Your current way of thinking has been determined more by your experiences/memories and how you allow your mind to think, than it has what you were born with.
Our thinking patterns are most clear to see when we are under pressure, when we don’t have as much capacity for directing thought as more energy is being directed to the sympathetic nervous system. This is another reason that playing under pressure is a win-win, whatever the result, as you get to learn more about who you are and how you think.
Every day we are shaping our thinking for future performance (for better or worse). Unfortunately, something that will always be working against us when it comes to shaping our thinking is the brain’s “negativity bias”. Our minds are designed more to stop us from doing anything that might hurt us, more than they are to seek pleasure.
Being more alert to danger than rewards helped humans survive under harsh conditions hundreds of thousands of years ago. But unfortunately, in our relatively safe modern world, the human mind still works in this way. We instinctively see threats more than we do potential rewards. But this doesn’t mean we have to accept it. When we focus too much on negative experiences, use negative self-talk, or think too much about what could go wrong, we reinforce and continue negative thinking patterns.
This is where the “inner” work comes in. Better ways to think can be learned at any time, so now is the best time to start. In his book “The Happiness Advantage”, Shawn Achor tells us that because of “neuroplasticity” (the brain’s ability to modify, change, and adapt), thinking patterns can be changed to help us be happier and mentally stronger. To start this process, we need to do some self-examination, so we can identify our negative thinking patterns and change them. So instead of continuing a negative storyline, you’ll create new positive thinking patterns which will guide you to your optimal performance state more often.
Changing Thinking Patterns
Step 1: Identification
The first step is to recognize what situations can trigger negative thinking patterns and what those thinking patterns are. By being more aware of your triggers, you can anticipate your thinking and work towards better responses. This identification of triggers, thoughts and feelings is facilitated by keeping a performance journal. Write down your answers to the following questions:
- What situations can trigger negative thinking? Examples are:
- Hitting a poor shot
- Getting a bad break
- Getting paired up with strangers or better players
- A bad round
- A tough tee shot
- Before a tournament
- A poor practice session
- Why do you think those negative thinking patterns occur? Are they valid concerns or your mind defaulting to it’s negative bias?
- Let go of these negative thinking patterns and replace them with positive ones. How would you like to think in these situations? What are the thought patterns that will make you feel confident and powerful?
As we discussed earlier in this module, improved mindfulness and focus enables us to choose more of what we place our attention on. So instead of letting the mind drift to rumination and reinforcement of negative thinking, we can pause and choose a better path.