This morning I woke up feeling kinda foggy, you know? Brain wasn't fully online. Saw some meme online about Descartes, that "I think, therefore I am" guy, and honestly? Before today, I just thought it was some dusty old quote smart people throw around. Felt like useless philosophy stuff. But the meme made me chuckle, and suddenly I wondered: Could I actually use this thing? Like, for real, in my messy head?
Grabbed my crappy notebook - the one with coffee stains already - and just wrote "I THINK" real big at the top. Didn't overcomplicate it. My goal? See what happens if I kept poking at that phrase during the day. No grand plan, just messing around.
Phase 1: The "Am I Even Doing This Right?" Part
Got the kids ready for school, pure chaos. Cereal flying, backpack lost. Stress building. I paused near the sink, halfway through yelling "Where's your jacket?!". Stupidly remembered my notebook."Okay," I mumbled to myself, "I think the jacket is probably under the couch." Just acknowledging the thought itself. Didn't magically find the jacket faster, but weirdly, that tiny pause felt like stepping back from the stress wave. Like noticing the thought itself existed.
Later, stuck in traffic. Horns blaring, running late. Feeling annoyed. Tried it again: "Okay, I think this traffic sucks." Simple. Obvious. But again, that split-second focus on the act of thinking it? Felt less like I was the rage, and more like I had the angry thought. Didn't make traffic move, but took the edge off the internal screaming.
Phase 2: Catching The Little Mind-Trips
Afternoon slump hit hard. Looking at emails, feeling useless. That nasty little voice: "You're falling behind. Everyone else has it figured out." Oof. Instead of spiraling with it, I literally wrote in my messy notebook: "Catching a thought: I think I'm failing." Just labeled it. Didn't try to fight it or believe it immediately. Just recognized: Oh, hello, thought. There you are.
Then spilled coffee everywhere. My first instinct? "I'm such a clumsy idiot!" But boom, remembered the practice. Stopped mid-cleanup. "I think I'm a clumsy idiot right now." And... huh. Suddenly saw it. That thought wasn't a solid fact my brain found, it was something my brain made just then, fueled by coffee rage and wet trousers. Big difference. Laughed at myself. Mess cleaned up, thought drifted off.
Phase 3: The Shower Thought Realization
Was showering later, brain wandering. Pondered why this even worked. Clicked: it’s not about what I think, but that I’m thinking it. It’s like turning the flashlight on the thinker, not just the thought. Those anxious thoughts? They show up, sure. But when I grab onto "I think this..." first, it puts a tiny bit of space between "me" and the storm. It felt like grounding.
Here’s what I scribbled after the shower:
- Don't fight the thoughts, notice them. "I think X" is just recognition.
- It’s super simple. Literally three words to start ("I think..."). No complex analysis.
- Works best in the stupid, annoying moments. Traffic, spilled coffee, self-doubt whispers.
- Creates space. Tiny gap between the thought and me freaking out about it.
So, did I become Descartes by dinner? Heck no. Still spilled sauce later. But using "I think..." throughout the day was like a weirdly practical little tool. It didn't stop thoughts, but helped me see them a bit clearer, like fish in a tank, instead of being swallowed by the ocean. Going to keep poking at this tomorrow. Maybe see what happens when I catch a good thought that way...
