METACOGNITION AND EMOTIONAL CONTROL

Rhonda Armbrust  

Metacognition is being aware of your thoughts and changing them. It is a skill you develop with practice. You learn to accept or reject thoughts according to how they serve you. Metacognition is supported by neural networks in the brain that turn self-awareness into self-control.

We create thoughts by perceiving through our senses, which spurs electrochemical signals. The thalamus sifts through the incoming data and sends the important information to the cerebral cortex. The amygdala attaches a positive or negative survival value to the information to drive appropriate reactions. The prefrontal cortex evaluates and decides how to respond based on goals and past experiences. The Hippocampus draws on memories and updates understanding. 

When you learn metacognitive processing, you become an observer of your thoughts, which allows you to change them. The brain does not detect truth per se. It detects repetition. However, your higher self detects truth. Learning to manage thoughts helps you receive and put to use your higher self’s input, thereby shifting your attention to thoughts and feelings that support who you want to be. 

Once you develop this heightened awareness, the skill can be expanded to include evaluating your feelings. Volition means using your free will to make conscious choices about how you perceive events and how you react to them. You become more aware of your feelings, then decide if it is what you want to feel. You can accept and allow an emotion, but then reappraise the situation and determine how you choose to feel about it, perceive it, and react to it. 

According to neuroanatomist Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, the chemical response created by emotions lasts about 90 seconds. After that, the emotion is only sustained by thinking about it, which triggers a new chemical response. An emotional response lingers only when you choose to stay with it. 

In survival mode, we often act from fear. At times, fear may serve you, but when you evaluate your fear, you might find that it is irrational and does not serve you. Sometimes, we fear what might happen or regret what did happen. Choosing the perspective that you gained something from every experience helps you let go of fear, forgive, and let the past go. Mindfulness helps you live in the moment and be less fearful of the future. During mindfulness exercises, tell yourself that right here, right now, everything is fine. 

Once you are able to decide what you want to think and how you want to feel, you are no longer a victim of your past, your thoughts, and your emotions. The heightened awareness teaches you how to recognize inner knowing or guidance. These processes are a gateway to your authentic self. The entity that you strive to be.

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