What Is Cognition? 𝘊𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴.

We’ve all probably heard of cognition and know it has something to do with thought and the brain.

But do you really know how it works?

𝘊𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴.

The cognitive model states that it is our personal interpretation of an event that is important rather than the actual event itself.

𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬

~ Epictetus, Stoic philosopher

A simple illustration of this is shown in the picture and explained below:

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗮ï𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹

Event ————> Emotion

𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦-𝘶𝘱 ————> 𝘚𝘢𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹

Event ————> Interpretation ————> Emotion

𝘒𝘪𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 —> 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 —> 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳

There are a number of different ways that we could interpret this event, leading to a number of different thoughts, which in turn, affect our emotion:

These examples show how mild inconveniences can result in a multitude of thoughts and emotions, depending on how an individual interprets the situation.

The implications of this model are that it is not the life situations themselves that are important, it is the meaning of this situation to the individual and how they respond to their own thoughts.

Applying the cognitive model, we can say that is it not what is actually going on in the your life that is important – it is recognising your thoughts for what they are and responding with your 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 that is really important.

Read more….

The Brain and Body Prioritise Adaptation, Not Balance

Pay attention to what you are thinking and how you are thinking… and make sure you are working in cycles.

Your optimally,
Scott

PS. If you want to learn how to control your thoughts and emotions, reach out via the Social link around the post!