"Learning to doubt is learning to think" (Octavio Paz)
The term Metacognition refers to an innate ability in humans. We could summarize it in a simple way in that ability that people have to think about our own thoughts, that is, beliefs and reactions to our thoughts.
"People with emotional problems are trapped in chains of thought that help maintain thoughts and emotions that cause discomfort"
Adrian Wells, clinical psychologist author of the therapy based on metacognition, tells us that people who suffer emotional problems are trapped in them because their metacognitions, or beliefs about their thoughts, provoke a specific pattern with which the person responds to their thoughts and feelings while maintaining negative emotions and ideas (Gkika and Wells, 2015).
The scheme of human behavior begins with the emotions and feelings caused by the situations we have experienced; These emotions and feelings activate a series of thoughts and, depending on what type of thoughts have been activated, we will act or react in a certain way or another.
Based on this we can deduce that our thinking is greatly influenced by our emotions; despite not being able to choose the emotions that a certain event or situation produces in us, Yes we can learn to manage them, analyze the thoughts that they arouse in us, and what happens later, our final behavior.
"The really important thing is not what we think, but what we do with what we think, our reaction"
To develop good metacognitive ability, people must take distance from our thoughts, feelings and actions, being flexible in the strategies we use to cope with our thoughts and improve decision-making, allowing to elaborate something different and thus emerge strengthened from the complex situations that can occur in our life.
When we talk about metacognition we cannot ignore its relationship with the theory of mind, that capacity that humans generate from 2-3 years of age and that allows us to understand and predict the behaviors of other people, as well as their knowledge, your intentions, your beliefs, or your emotions. This allows us to hypothesize about how others are going to behave, to think about what others think..
This ability allows us to anticipate possible reactions or behaviors of the people with whom we interact, it even allows us to be able to predict the behavior of a stranger in a given situation and, based on this, decide what our response will be.
There are relevant aspects in sports practice closely related to metacognition.
As we have already commented previously, the metacognition can help us manage our emotions more intelligently, or it can help us predict how other people will behave.
Let's go by parts:
Learning to think about our own thoughts allows us, among other things, be smarter on an emotional level. Knowing what thoughts are produced before a certain emotion or feeling allows us to make a better analysis of the situation.
For example, an athlete capable of analyzing his thoughts and the bodily symptoms that an emotional state of stress or anxiety produces will be much better able to work on them to modify or reduce those symptoms. through modifying negative thinking for a more appropriate one.
This will allow reduce stress or anxiety generated by the situation and to be able to face in a more adequate way the sporting competition or the match situation.
On the other hand, thinking about the thoughts of others, about their mental schemes, allows us to predict their behavior, as we have already commented, thanks to the theory of mind.
At a sporting level, developing this skill can be fundamental according to which sports disciplines, knowing the rival, “knowing how he thinks or acts in a certain situation”, allows the athlete to predict what his next move will be, and depending on it adapt their behavior and have a more effective response.
For example, we have on the court a basketball player with a high percentage of success in outside shooting, the player who defends him knows him, has studied his movements and behaviors, his behavior in general. This, together with his ability to think about what the player thinks, to know his beliefs, his intentions or his emotions, will help the defender to predict the decisions of the shooter..
This will increase performance in defense since you can make better decisions about your movements and prevent you from shooting, or make you not comfortable and do not make good decisions in attack..
The way we experience our thoughts and feelings lead us to act in one way or another, By learning to think about it properly, we will be able to act as external self-observers, and thus we will be able to direct our attention to more positive information about the events that happen in our lives; we will achieve a greater baggage of strategies that will help us assess and respond to day-to-day situations more effectively.
"Being able to assess different options, and being flexible when reacting, allows more opportunities to successfully get out of the situation"
As we have already commented on a sporting level, training this ability has numerous benefits, it not only helps to improve personal / individual aspects and to manage emotions more intelligently and how they affect the athlete's performance.
It can also help us improve aspects such as concentration / attention on a task, or increase motivation towards a sporting event.
At the relational level, in addition, helps us increase empathy and anticipate behaviors from rivals and peers.
There are a series of questions or steps that can make it easier for us to work on our metacognition and practice different strategies that we carry out or learn. First, we must identify our own thoughts, feelings and actions, and then ask ourselves:
To know more:
- Papageorgiou, C. (2015). Metacognitive Theory, Therapy and Techniques: Introduction to the Special Issue. Springer Science Business Media. 39, 1-3. DOI: 10.1007 / s10608- 014-9649-1.
- Metacognitive Therapy (October 23, 2015, extract from Reyes, M. A. 2012). Recovered from: http://www.psicologosvalencia.es/terapia-metacognitiva/
- Gkika, S. and Wells, A. (2015). How to deal with negative thoughts? A preliminary comparison of detached Mindfulness and thought evaluation in socially anxious individuals. Cognitive Therapy and Research. DOI: 10.1007 / s10608-014-9637-5.
- Tirapu-Ustarroz, J., Pérez-Sayés, G., Erekatxto-Bilbao, M., and Pelegrín-Valero, C. (2007). What is the theory of mind? Neurology Magazine. 44; 479-89. DOI:
Yet No Comments