A newborn… so precious. Equally as exhausting. Right? … for those new parents out there? A baby’s thought process? Very simple.

Stimulus… response. Eat, sleep, poop. No real “mental” screening going on here… yet to be developed.

As the child grows, so does the his/her “mental screen.”

What do I mean? Simply? We all receive volumes of mental stimuli daily. That’s good, not good. Anger … confusion … happiness … love, opinions, decisions. We process these *** “screen” them first and then we respond. All pass through our brain before responding. That moment, minute, day between “stimulus” and “response” A decision …. I call this utilizing our “mental screen.”

As we grow, so hopefully does our “screen.” Our newborn?… no screen. A child… more so, but still undeveloped. What goes into the brain, normally flows straight through. Is blurted out.

The adolescent has a better “screen” but still growing. Frustration. “Who am I?”… “I’m doing this regardless of what they think!” A little difficult at times? Rebellious. Private. The pause between stimulus and response? Present at times but erratic. Example. The adolescent feels frustrated, but chooses to respond more calmly. “I could say how pissed I am with my mom (stimulus)… but my response could be hurtful.” Ah, the “screen” is activated. “Mom, I’m sorry.” The response is less hurtful, more respectful. There are signs of growth… the mental screen is “thickening.” A better outcome.

The adult… will almost always, not always, be more discerning. Work to process stimuli more productively, positively. Example. “I’m angry! But I’ve learned, if I get angry here, I lose.” More reasoned, more mature… more adult. The “screen” is working. We must still feel our emotions. But we release them in a way that better assures healthy outcomes. In conversation, during times of conflict, showing our love for another.

So how’s your “mental screen” working? Childlike… adolescent… or adult? How many times have your had regrets taking something in, the stimulus, and just letting it fly, the response… creating a bad result.

Could you have expressed yourself more maturely? Delivered your truth more attractively.

Think about it. What is the effectiveness, quality of my responses to the myriad of messages I receive and process every day?

Critical… Your Mental Screen

Change is a choice… it’s not a matter of capacity. More on this later.