Increasing Mental Flexibility
Strategies for changing unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaving
Cognitive flexibility can help us adapt to change
Mental flexibility is the ability to adapt cognitive processing strategies — such as thinking and planning — to face new and unexpected conditions in the environment.
I often become anxious with unexpected change, especially on short notice, even if it’s change I would otherwise be happy about. For example, I enjoy going to watch hockey, soccer, or football games (and playing hockey and soccer).
While I enjoy sports, going to a crowded arena or stadium requires quite a bit of mental preparation for me. If we’re offered last-minute tickets or are invited to join friends on short notice, my first response is feeling anxious and my first impulse is to say no, I don’t want to go.
Conversely, if I expect something to proceed in a certain way, and then we have to change course with little time to prepare, I get really thrown off, and this creates a lot discomfort for me.
Cognitive flexibility is the ability to go with the flow, to roll with changes, think on our feet, and move laterally. In some circumstances (such as my professional life) I can be very good at this because I am…
