Welcome to The New Mind Studio, your weekly space to connect, reflect and grow.
If you’ve been feeling a little hijacked by your own thoughts (yes, we’ve all been there), this issue is for you.
Let's dive in:
CONNECT
Here’s a pattern I keep catching in myself:
Something small happens.
A message that sounds slightly cold.
A meeting invite without context.
A colleague who goes quiet in a meeting.
And my brain immediately produces a full Netflix series:
“They’re unhappy with me.”
“I’ve dropped the ball.”
“This is going to be a problem.”
It’s fast. It feels true. And it quietly drives how I show up.
My tone changes. I over-explain. And I desperately try to control.
Until this concept changed my approach to life:
I realized I don’t have to believe every thought I have.
I can pause and ask: am I buying the story, or am I looking at the facts?
Because most of our stress isn’t caused by reality.
It’s caused by the story we attach to reality.
And when I’m stressed, I’m usually buying a story my brain made up to keep me safe.
That’s why “thinking about your thinking” matters.
Because your brain is excellent at one thing:
Protecting you from discomfort.
It does that by generating predictions, warnings, and stories.
Useful… yes, sometimes. But honestly not always accurate.
And when you treat every alarm like a fire, you end up leading from fear, not clarity.
The skill is noticing your thoughts early enough to choose what to do with them.
REFLECT
Step 1: Notice your thoughts
Takes 5 minutes. Grab a pen and paper.
Draw two columns: FACTS and YOUR STORY.
FACTS are what you could screenshot or record.
Exact words. What happened or didn’t happen. Times, actions, silence.
YOUR STORY is everything your brain added: mind-reading, predictions, conclusions.
A few examples to show you what I mean:
Fact: They replied “Ok.” two hours later.
Story: They’re mad at me.Fact: Meeting invite: no agenda, no context.
Story: Something’s wrong.Fact: Kid slammed the door.
Story: I’m a bad parent.Fact: Message left on read.
Story: They’re avoiding me.
See the gap? The facts are small. The story is enormous.
Most of your stress lives in that gap.
That’s the moment to practice: don’t buy the story yet.
This helps you see the forest for the trees
Step 2: Decide What You’ll Do Next
Now take one clean next step.
This is the move that keeps you from buying the story and acting it out.
Write this line:
Given the fact X, my next step is…
One of these tends to help:
Clarify: “What’s the real ask / decision?”
Confirm: “Did I understand you correctly: ___?”
Contain: “I’ll respond after lunch / tomorrow.”
Commit: “I’ll deliver ___ by ___.”
Care: “Walk + water + breathe, then respond.”
Super simple, but truly powerful.
GROW
Thinking about your thinking has powerful benefits.
It gives you control over how you react to uncertainty.
It keeps you from exporting stress to your team (or your family).
It keeps you from burning energy on problems you don’t actually have yet.
Not buying the story creates space for better questions and cleaner next steps.
People can feel the difference.
Warmly,
Nadia,
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