Mobile Navigation

Psychology Today

• Find a Therapist

  Find a Therapist

  Therapists

  • Therapists
  • Psychiatrists
  • Treatment Centers
  • Support Groups

  x

  [International+] Therapists : Login | Sign Up

  International

  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Canada
  • Denmark
  • Hong Kong
  • Ireland
  • New Zealand
  • Singapore
  • South Africa
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • United Kingdom
  • United States

• Get Help

  Mental Health

  • Addiction
  • Anxiety
  • ADHD
  • Asperger's
  • Autism
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Chronic Pain
  • Depression
  • Eating Disorders

  Personality

  • Passive Aggression
  • Personality
  • Shyness

  Personal Growth

  • Goal Setting
  • Happiness
  • Positive Psychology
  • Stopping Smoking

  Relationships

  • Low Sexual Desire
  • Relationships
  • Sex

  Family Life

  • Child Development
  • Parenting

  View Help Index

  Do I Need Help?

  • Self Tests NEW
    
  • Therapy Center

  Recently Diagnosed?

  • Diagnosis Dictionary
  • Types of Therapy

  Talk to Someone

  • Find a Therapist
  • Find a Treatment Center
  • Find a Psychiatrist
  • Find a Support Group
  • Find Online Therapy

• Magazine

  Current

  [May 2024 magazine cover+]

  May 2024
  How to Face Your Everyday Triggers
  

  At any moment, someone’s aggravating behavior or our own bad luck can set us off on an emotional spiral that threatens to derail our entire day. Here’s how we can face our triggers with less reactivity so that we can get on with our lives.

  Subscribe

  Recent

  [March 2024 magazine cover+]

  [January 2024 magazine cover+]

  [November 2023 magazine cover+]

  [September 2023 magazine cover+]

  Issue Archive

• Today

  News

  Essential Reads

  Trending Topics

  • Emotional Intelligence
  • Narcissism
  • Gaslighting
  • Bias
  • Affective Forecasting
  • Neuroscience

  See All

intl

Search

Search

Verified by Psychology Today

[Moshe Bar Ph.D.+]

Moshe Bar Ph.D.

Facilitating Thought Progression

Cognition

How to Shift Your State of Mind

Our state of mind slides across a spectrum. Here’s how to find the sweet spot.

Posted April 29, 2024 | Reviewed by Devon Frye

• [Share on Facebook]Share
  
• [Share on Twitter]Tweet
  
• [Share on LinkedIn]Share
  
• [Share via Email]Email
  

Key points

• Our state of mind is changeable, but not out of our control.
• A broad state of mind leads toward creativity, a positive mood, and openness to new experiences.
• Someone with a narrow state of mind reverts to memory, experience, and limited expectations.
• You can learn to optimize your state of mind to adjust to situations and challenges at hand.

When I took my children to the Museum of Science in Boston, I liked to sit them by the entrance of the cafeteria while we ate to provide a lesson about state of mind.

People walking into the cafeteria stared at our plates. People walking out looked at our faces. Why? Because of the striking difference in their states of mind:

• On the way in, they were seeking food information. (What is on the menu? Does it look tasty?)
• On the way out, their hunger was satisfied, and they were looking for social information. (Who were the other visitors that day? Why are these children looking at me?)

State of mind is changeable and elastic, responsive to our environment. Think of it like our eyes: In bright light, our pupils constrict. In dim light, they widen.

Often, things beyond our control influence our state of mind. However, that doesn’t leave us helpless. We can have agency when it comes to our state of mind and maneuver it to be primed for a task or challenge before us.