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Key points
- The state of the human mind is passive and reactive.
- To harness our best thinking, we must turn that reactive state into active thinking.
- This article shares a single exercise we can easily do to activate our thinking.
Are you familiar with the term “resting b-tch face”? I first learned about it from a friend who claims to possess this trait. It means that the relaxed state of one’s face naturally settles into the shape of a sour frown, or what my father might call a pout. Those who have this characteristic, like my friend, wear it proudly.
In this post, I’m not making a value judgment on resting b-tch face, but its very existence sparked an important point about creativity. I realized that the resting state of the human mind seems to be quite similar. Let’s call it Resting-B-tch Mind, or RBM for short.
RBM is closely related to the Inertia of No. The resting state of the human mind, absent specific work to change this, is inherently negative. It is reactive and critical. It is the very embodiment of the Inertia of No and the antipode of creativity.
Perpetual critics cannot be creative.
RBM is something that we need to change about ourselves. If we carry on with it, we get stuck. We miss out on opportunities. We devolve into critics instead of makers and problem solvers.
Yes, RBM is a problem for humankind. It is the mental equivalent of staying on the couch and eating snacks all day long.
One reason I believe gratitude is so important is that it has the immediate and singular ability to slice through the inertia of RBM. It shifts our thinking quickly and decisively. This is an example of the active versus the passive mind.
RBM is passive. It’s inertia.
Gratitude is active. It’s productive.
It takes work and practice to break out of RBM. Starting today, you can use deliberate gratitude to achieve this. You will become a more active thinker—a person with more opportunities that lead to a meaningful, happy life.
If you have to, set a reminder once, twice, or three times a day. Remember to be thankful. You can do it silently. Or, you can take out your phone and send a thank-you text, or dial a number and make a surprise thank-you call, or take out a notecard and pen and send a gratitude note.
Gratitude and its extension—giving—is a sure way to save yourself from a life of RBM and it will launch you into productive, active thinking and unexpected opportunities.
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