Elizabeth Thornton
Elizabeth Thornton
Mary Forrest George, née Baxter, well known as Elizabeth Thorntonis a British-Canadian writer of 31 historical romance novels from 1986 to 2010...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth24 January 1940
CountryCanada
background cognitive means mental models onto perceive project respond results senses
We perceive through our senses a person, a situation or an event, and in an instant, we project our mental models - our fears, background and experiences - onto that perception. This often results in cognitive errors, which means we judge and respond incorrectly.
consider mental models
When we can see things as they are, without projecting our mental models and fears, we are being objective. When we can understand and consider another person's point of view, we are being objective.
aware experience lens mental models responses
We all have mental models: the lens through which we see the world that drive our responses to everything we experience. Being aware of your mental models is key to being objective.
behavior continue create drive mental reinforced
Sometimes our childhood experiences are emotionally intense, which can create strong mental models. These experiences and our assumptions about them are then reinforced in our memory and can continue to drive our behavior as adults.
change lasting order power
New Year's Resolutions come and go. Some we keep, some we don't. In order to make lasting changes in our lives, we must first change our minds. We sometimes forget, and we often feel stuck, but we all have the power to do so.
brief increased warning
Most of us know when we are about to react emotionally. We can feel it. Often there is a brief warning before the amygdala hijack. For some of us, it is butterflies in the stomach; for some, it is an increased heart rate, and for others, it is a feeling of agitation.
caught college high highly leadership school score sports students taught
Many high school students are under so much competitive pressure. They are sometimes taught that if they don't have a 4.0 GPA, score in the 99th percentile on admissions tests, and demonstrate leadership in sports and participate in clubs, they won't get into college anywhere. Even highly credentialed professionals get caught up in this.
act believe challenge decide harmless object power remember since thoughts unless
It is important to remember that a thought is harmless unless we believe them and act on them. As the subject, since thoughts are an object of your awareness, you have the power to challenge every thought. You can decide if you want to make that thought real.
call complete people reduce respond therefore whether
Complete objectivity is not an option. We are all subjective about the way we respond to 'what is,' whether it's the people we encounter, the circumstances in our lives, or ourselves. What we can do is reduce our subjectivity - what I call 'I see, therefore it is.'
admit causes honest notions people
If we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit that sometimes our assumptions and preconceived notions are wrong, and therefore, our interpretation of events is incorrect. This causes us to overreact, to take things personally, or to judge people unfairly.
respond tools triggers understand victim
We are not a victim of our emotions or thoughts. We can understand our triggers and use them as tools to help us respond more objectively.
experience power respond
Because of the power of neuroplasticity, you can, in fact, reframe your world and rewire your brain so that you are more objective. You have the power to see things as they are so that you can respond thoughtfully, deliberately, and effectively to everything you experience.
identify preventing underlying
When there is a problem, always identify and evaluate your underlying assumptions that may be contributing to the problem or preventing you from seeing the problem clearly.
identify models objective tweak
Objective leaders identify their unproductive mental models and tweak them for greater effectiveness.