I can’t avoid it and neither can you. We all look at the world through colored glasses. Throughout our lives, we all acquire a series of mental “filters” through biological and cultural influences. We then use these filters to understand the world. These filters determine not only what we see, but also how we interpret what we see. The fascinating thing about this process is that it largely happens unconsciously. This article is about how to recognize and change thinking patterns.
The Reality of Colored Glasses
The art of conscious living lies in recognising which mental filters help us and which limit us, and then making conscious choices about how we want to see things.
What Scientific Research Teaches Us
The Power of Cognitive Biases
Recent research shows that cognitive biases are unconscious and systematic thinking errors that occur when we process and interpret information from our environment. And that these influence our decisions and judgments. These biases aren’t necessarily bad; they’re often evolutionary shortcuts that help us make quick decisions. But in our complex modern world, they can also mislead us.
Common perception filters that color our glasses:
- Confirmation bias: We seek information that confirms our existing beliefs
- Anchoring bias: We let ourselves be too strongly influenced by the first information we receive
- Negativity bias: We pay more attention to negative than positive information
- Availability bias: We base judgments on what’s easiest to remember
Positive versus Negative Frames
Research into framing effects shows that when both choices are positively framed as gains, the majority of people prefer a certain gain over a probable gain. On the other hand, when both choices are negatively framed as losses, people tend to choose an uncertain loss over an inevitable loss.
A practical example:
- “90% survival rate” sounds more positive than “10% mortality rate”
- “80% lean meat” is preferred over “20% fat”
Even though both statements are identical, the way of presenting influences our perception enormously. Check in with yourself, how does it feel when you read the first description…or the second?
The Scientific Basis of Change – Change Thinking Patterns
Metacognition: Thinking About Thinking
A breakthrough in research comes from metacognition: the ability to think about your own thinking. Mindfulness is related to the highest level of metacognition and depends on dynamic cooperation between three main components of metacognition: metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive experiences, and metacognitive skills.
This means that awareness of our thinking processes is the first step toward change. We can learn to observe our own mental habits without getting swept up in them.
Taking the time to reflect… or to question yourself critically. Also read Mindfulness – Vipassana meditation
Neuroplasticity: The Possibility of Change
The good news is that our brains are changeable. Experiments by Morewedge and colleagues (2015) found that interactive computer games and instructional videos can result in long-term debiasing at a general level. In a series of experiments, training with interactive computer games that offered players personalized feedback, mitigation strategies, and practice reduced six cognitive biases by more than 30% immediately and by more than 20% up to three months later.
Practical Techniques for Recognizing Your Thoughts
It’s actually strange that we don’t question, examine, and perhaps better crystallize what we actually think and feel about something more often. We’ve often already established our opinion and unconsciously only seek confirmation. But how do you really improve yourself?
1. The Mindfulness Approach
Observation exercise:
- Consciously notice how you react to news, conversations, or situations
- Ask yourself: “What emotion arises?” and “What thought comes up first?”
- Observe without judging; you are a researcher of your own mind
2. Identifying Mental Filters
This pattern is particularly strong in many women. Women often learn from an early age to be moderate, not take up “too much” space, and not place themselves above others. Fortunately, this thinking pattern is changing, but it’s still a daily occurrence.
The social conditioning behind mental filtering: The tendency to filter out the positive often arises from cultural messages like “be modest,” “don’t show off,” or “don’t think you’re better than others.” Women often learn that self-esteem can be dangerous; it can lead to rejection, jealousy, or being labeled “arrogant.” The result is a built-in system that automatically minimizes positive feedback and magnifies negative feedback.
Recognition signals:
- You consistently focus on what goes wrong
- Compliments “don’t count” but criticism lingers long
- You see patterns of “evidence” for negative beliefs
- Positive events are dismissed as “luck” or “coincidence”
And so you repeatedly prove what you focus your attention on. Change your Thinking pattern: Also read Everything You Give Attention to Grows
3. The Framing Check
When assessing a situation, try consciously applying different frames:
Negative frame: What can go wrong? What do I lose? Positive frame: What can I learn? What opportunities do I see? Neutral frame: What are just the facts, without interpretation?
Can you do this without staying in your own (visual) tunnel? Ask yourself these questions without thinking you already know the answer. Really dig a bit deeper than the first thing that comes to mind. Question your answer multiple times and from multiple perspectives.
Techniques for Adjusting Your Thoughts
1. Cognitive Restructuring
Imagine: your presentation at work didn’t go as planned and you immediately think “I’m hopeless at presenting, everyone saw how bad I was.” These kinds of automatic thoughts can completely determine your day and self-image. Fortunately, you can learn to consciously examine and transform these thoughts.
The ABCDE method in practice:
Take a recent situation where you judged yourself harshly:
- A – Activating Event: What exactly happened? (My presentation faltered at question 3)
- B – Beliefs: What thought spontaneously arose? (“I’m worthless at presenting”)
- C – Consequences: How did you feel? What did you do? (Shame, avoiding eye contact, went home early)
- D – Discussion: Is this thought completely true? (I answered the other questions well, people nodded in agreement)
- E – Effective New Thought: What helpful thought gives me more energy? (“I’m still learning, and one stumble doesn’t make me bad at presenting”)
It’s not about fooling yourself with false positivity, but about getting a more honest, complete picture of the situation. This ABCDE method originates from RET (Rational Emotive Training – Albert Ellis).
2. Becoming Your Own Detective
We often accept our first thoughts as truth, while they’re actually hypotheses that can be investigated. Become a detective of your own thinking patterns.
The honest investigation method:
Take a belief you’re struggling with, for example “I’m bad in social situations.” It’s so important to keep questioning your own thoughts and not always immediately label them as truth.
- Gathering evidence for: When did it indeed not go well?
- Last week I felt uncomfortable at that party
- I said something embarrassing during the coffee break
- Looking for evidence against: When did it go well?
- My colleague laughed at my joke yesterday
- I had a nice conversation with the neighbor
- People regularly invite me out
- Thinking of alternative explanations: What else could be going on?
- Maybe I was just tired at that party
- Everyone says something embarrassing sometimes
- Social skills are a skill you can practice
- The friends test: What would your best friend say about your social skills?
The goal isn’t to convince yourself that everything is perfect, but to get a more honest, nuanced picture. The beautiful thing is that you often get really nice and good answers from yourself when you question yourself a bit better. And you also find that your best friend is right and wish the same for them. Why not for yourself then?
3. The Glasses Game: Consciously Switching Perspectives
Another beautiful way is to imagine you have three different pairs of glasses, each with a different filter. By consciously switching between these glasses, you break out of automatic thinking patterns and get a richer picture of every situation.
The three glasses in action:
Think of a situation that’s bothering you, for example an upcoming job interview.
With the pessimistic glasses on:
- “I’m definitely going to mess it up, they surely have much better candidates”
- “My CV isn’t impressive enough”
- “What if I freeze up at the questions?”
Now switch to the optimistic glasses:
- “This is a great opportunity to show what I can do”
- “They invited me, so they see potential”
- “I have a lot of relevant experience”
Finally, the realistic glasses:
- “I can prepare well by practicing common questions”
- “It’s normal to be nervous, that’s human”
- “Whether I get the job or not, I always learn something from it”
It’s not about choosing the “right” glasses, but about consciously experiencing how each pair influences your emotions and choices. Usually the truth lies somewhere in the middle, and the realistic perspective gives you the most tools to act effectively.
Developing Helpful Filters
Positive Framing Techniques
Research shows that positive self-talk and reframing teach us to challenge negative thinking patterns and develop a more optimistic view of life.
Practical application:
- Development-oriented language: “I’m still learning” instead of “I can’t”
- Opportunity focus: “How can I…” instead of “Why can’t I…”
- Meaningful framing: “This helps me to…” instead of “I have to…”
The Curious Attitude
A specific form of meta-experience that according to Jankowski and Holas (2014) is characteristic of mindfulness is the feeling of novelty. That is, the perception of situations and objects with which the person is already familiar can still be experienced in a new and different way.
Cultivate your curiosity by:
- Asking “What if…?” questions
- Asking: “What can I learn from this?”
- Approaching every situation as if you’re seeing it for the first time
- Looking for patterns instead of confirmation
Practical Implementation of This Curious Attitude
If you want to change thinking patterns or improve something about yourself, it will always require time and energy. Know that “in the end” it yields so much more and that you should be grateful to yourself for crawling out of a certain perspective. Know that we’re all in it together; you’re not alone.
Morning check-in:
- What mood/filter do I notice upon waking?
- How do I want to look at the world today?
- What intention do I set for my perception?
Evening reflection:
- Which filters were active today?
- When did they help me, when did they limit me?
- What do I want to do differently tomorrow?
The 5-4-3-2-1 Reality Check
When you notice you’re stuck in a negative filter, you can zoom in further with this reality check. Question yourself on the following fronts:
- 5 things you can see
- 4 things you can feel
- 3 things you can hear
- 2 things you can smell
- 1 thing you can taste
This mindfulness technique brings you back to the here and now, away from interpretations to direct perception.
The Challenge: Finding Balance
The goal isn’t to always think positively; that would be a new form of bias (prejudice). Continuous cognitive debiasing is probably the most important characteristic of the critical thinker and the well-calibrated mind.
A healthy perception is characterized by:
- Flexibility: The ability to switch between perspectives
- Realism: Recognition of both challenges and opportunities
- Compassion: Kindness toward yourself and others
- Growth orientation: Focus on learning and development
- Value-based: Choices that align with what you find important
Conclusion: The Art of Conscious Looking
The colored glasses will always exist; that’s human. But we can consciously choose what color those glasses have and when you put on different ones. Science shows that we can have more control over our perception than we think and therefor change thinking patterns. Looking consciously and consciously questioning yourself about it is the first step. To compile this article, I was able to dive into this subject again and make it even clearer for myself. During the training to become a life coach, this was naturally also extensively covered.
My most important insights:
- Awareness is the first step – learn to know your own mental habits
- Flexibility is strength – practice switching between perspectives
- Verification helps – test your interpretations against reality
- Patience with yourself – changing thinking patterns takes time and practice
- Choose consciously – which filters help you live the life you want?
The world is complex and multicolored. By dealing more consciously with our perception filters, we can better appreciate this complexity and respond from wisdom instead of automatism. Our colored glasses then no longer become a limitation, but a tool for a richer and more conscious life.
Because ultimately, it’s not what you see, but how you look, that determines the quality of your experience of life.
Read more:
- You often suffer most from the suffering you fear
- Everything you give attention to grows
- Enjoy this moment – Path to Happiness