Recently, as I found myself continuously having negative thoughts, I suddenly asked myself, “What am I thinking right now?”

We often hear that we need to understand ourselves before we can understand the world. This is an age-old adage for becoming a more mature person. However, the truth is that we often don’t know our own true nature, what we are thinking right now, or why we are thinking it.

Our brains are structured like networks, and rather than initiating thoughts on their own, they often start functioning in response to external stimuli. Sometimes, even the smallest things can lead to a chain of negative thoughts, causing us to spend painful periods of time. These are not thoughts I choose to have. Such thoughts frequently keep me up at night, gripped by baseless fears that I can’t influence in any way.

People often go into the mountains to overcome such agony and start self-reflection. Some who become enlightened claim to have awakened under the weight of waterfalls. “Water is water, and mountains are mountains.” To this extent, observing oneself can reveal the principles of the world and oneself. How difficult must this process be?

However, recently, I realized that ordinary people like me might have a simple way to control their thoughts. It’s incredibly simple: ask yourself, “What am I thinking right now?” If you find yourself engrossed in unhelpful thoughts, tell yourself, “These thoughts are pointless. They don’t help me.”

Upon further reflection, I realized that this kind of thinking is not unique to me and is related to something called metacognition. I don’t know much about it, but it’s a word I’ve heard somewhere.

The word ‘meta’ comes from the Greek “μετά,” meaning “after,” “beyond,” “with,” “adjacent,” “self,” and more. In English, it is used as a prefix to abstract, complete, or add to other concepts. Simply put, meta signifies a new perspective that transcends existing concepts or ways of thinking.

For example, metascience is the study of science itself. While science studies the laws of the universe and nature, metascience deals with scientific methodologies, the structure and development of scientific knowledge, and the relationship between science and society. Metaphilosophy questions philosophy itself. Metamemory in psychology refers to one’s knowledge about their ability to remember or not remember something. Metacinema includes scenes where the protagonist realizes they are in a movie and communicates with the audience.

Therefore, metacognition can mean thinking about our own thoughts. Developmental psychologist John Flavell, who studied metacognition, defined it as the ability to think about one’s own thinking independently.

Metacognition is also called higher-order thinking or super thinking, which essentially means self-reflection. It involves not accepting one’s thoughts, feelings, or knowledge at face value but verifying them independently. This process can also include doubting oneself to see if one is correct. Thus, it can be used to determine whether one’s mental state, memory, or judgment is normal. Thinking about whether your words and actions are appropriate when you have been drinking is also an example of metacognitive work.

Ultimately, not just for the sake of high intelligence but to live our daily lives properly, we need to frequently ask ourselves, “What am I thinking right now?”