The Mental Model

The Internal Reality Cycle

Our mind processes information from the world through a constant sequence that shapes our entire reality.

This fundamental process follows a four-step cycle: thoughts, feelings, actions, and finally, the results we obtain.

Understanding this model gives you the power to intervene in the cycle and change the results you don't like.

It is a map that shows you how your inner world works and how it creates your outer experience.

The Origin. Involuntary Thoughts

The whole process always begins with the thoughts that pop into our minds throughout the day.

It's crucial to understand that we don't control what specific thoughts enter our minds at any given time.

You can be walking down the street and suddenly a thought pops up, without you having decided or anticipated it.

It's often like having a little angel and a little devil in your mind, each whispering opposing ideas.

Both positive and negative thinking are constantly competing for your attention and mental energy.

However, we do have absolute control over the thoughts we consciously choose to focus on.

The Filter. Beliefs That Generate Feelings

Once we focus on a thought, it passes through our mental filters, such as beliefs and education.

The meaning we give to experiences is not the experience itself, but our interpretation of it.

It is our will that decides which thoughts we are going to validate and which ones we are going to give our energy to.

This interpretation we make through the filters is what gives a specific meaning to each thought.

This meaning that we attribute to it is what ultimately generates a feeling in us, whether positive or negative.

The Consequence. From Feelings to Actions

Depending on how we feel in a situation, we will act and behave in a certain way.

Our feelings directly influence each of our actions, both large and small.

If a thought generates anxiety or fear, our actions are usually those of flight, paralysis, or even a defensive reaction.

At this key point, we have a very important choice that we often overlook in our daily lives.

Here we can choose between reacting emotionally or responding in a more conscious way to seek a better result.

The Loop. Results That Reinforce Thoughts

Our actions, in turn, produce concrete results in our lives, which can be good or bad for us.

If a colleague calls you mediocre, that thought will make you feel bad and you will act with great insecurity.

By acting this way, you will probably get a bad result at work, which will have its consequences.

This negative result will reaffirm the original idea that you are mediocre, thus closing the destructive vicious circle.

In this way, a self-fulfilling prophecy is created where our initial fears end up manifesting due to our own actions.

Become the Detective of Your Mind

In order to break this automatic cycle, you must become the detective of your own mind and observe your processes.

You have to take a step back in order to identify the origin of your emotions with a much more objective perspective.

Ask yourself what you were thinking exactly right before you started feeling a certain way.

By tracing the origin of the feeling back to the initial thought, you observe it from the outside and take away its power.

This simple observation allows you to detach yourself from the emotion and defuse it before it completely controls you.

Summary

Everything we experience is governed by a four-step cycle: thoughts, feelings, actions, and outcomes. This mental model shows how our internal reality creates our experience.

The process begins with thoughts. We can't control what enters our minds, but we can choose which ones to focus on. That choice, based on our beliefs, generates our feelings.

Our feelings direct our actions, which in turn produce outcomes. These outcomes often reinforce the initial thoughts, creating a vicious cycle. It's key to observe thoughts before they control us.