We engage with our thoughts, sometimes far more on autopilot mode than we realize.

While being fast enough in our thinking, is what enables us to get through our days without having to unnecessarily weigh in every little detail of our actions — it still comes with a caveat;

It is also what keeps us repeating negative thought loops and patterns.

Our brain is tempted to use as less energy as possible to get the job done, and feeding on that temptation, is why our brain can sometimes be deceiving.

Breaking from unhealthy feedback loops requires us to first know why we are susceptible to it, and then to work on being less susceptible — until we no longer are.

Cognitive biasesare exaggerated distortions of reality — and because they are not based on facts — is why it makes us view things far more negatively than they really are.

These biases are why the brain is capable of playing tricks on us, and the more we are aware of their presence in our lives, the better equipped we will be to not be slowed by them.

Here are 5 biases that keep us stuck, when we ought to move past them.

1.Availability heuristic

This bias convinces us to give greater credence to ideas that come to our mind easily.

If we can immediately think of several things that support a judgment, we may be inclined to think that the judgment is correct;

Sometimes this involves creating ideas that support our judgement, so that it is easier for us to believe it, and act on it.

According to theAmerican Psychological Association, information in our memory that we have fast and easy access to, makes it appear more reliable to us.

And when we do it once, and again, and yet again, our memory is filled with these instances, thus building a whole repository to draw from.

It may well be worth to pause every time we are inclined to draw a conclusion basis such ideas — because for all we know, they’re just a bunch of false associations.

2.Confirmation Bias

The availability heuristic is inter-connected with this one — we tend to seek out and interpret information in ways that confirm what we already believe.

Since our most trusted source (by default) is our minds, this bias makes us ignore or invalidate information that conflicts with our beliefs.

When we have easy access to something that is already deeply ingrained within us, it is no surprise that such thoughts can control us, if we let them.

To break from this bias, we not only have to give second (third, or more) thoughts to what we readily have access to, but also what we readily want to believe.

Sometimes, in an attempt to protect us, our mind is capable of keeping us in the dark — and we need to actively work towards our way to the light.

3.All-or-nothing Thinking

As the name suggests, this bias moves us to polarize our thinking towards choices, people, and situations.

This kind of thinking usually leads to unrealistic standards that stands to affect our motivation, and consequently, our actions.

When we refuse to see things other than in black or white, and fail to acknowledge the grey — we set ourselves up for disappointment against the constructs we build in our head.

Again, this may be because we’re so hardwired to find a single truth to believe in, that any more or less becomes too much for us to process.

When we find ourselves clinging to one end a bit too much, it might be the right time to question if we’re being blindsided by our own mind?

4.Jumping to Conclusions

This bias is more about underthinking than otherwise — we tend to interpret situations negatively,despite having no evidence to support such a conclusion.

But the most harm is done when we react to those assumptions we craft, because that means we are not helping our brains distinguish between what’s real and what’s not;

And the more we action a command to listen to those assumptions, the more our brains get comfortable with relying on assumptions.

It is wise to ask ourselves if we are being guided by the reality, or by something our brain offers as an illusion of reality, especially when we have persistent thoughts, anxiety, or concerns.

5.Attentional Bias

What once evolved as a survival mechanism, can actually be harmful if overdone, or done for the wrong reasons.

Our perceptions are vulnerable to being affected by factors we selectively pay attention to — of the millions of bits of information we are exposed to daily, we are inclined to spot the ones that concern our health, emotions, and safety in some way.

This evolved survival skill turns into a bias when we focus a major chunk of our energy into one kind of information, while disregarding other kinds.

This bias is sly — it can make us feel surrounded by the stimuli we’re sensitive to, more than we really are.

This clearly explains why we feel stuck at existing train of thoughts, instead of considering alternative possibilities.

This can be particularly challenging for people with anxiety disorders, as they may fix more of their attention on stimuli they perceive to be threatening, rather than absorbing information that might calm them.

As difficult as it may seem to deal with this blind spot, we can use our awareness to rise beyond our narrow walls of perception.

While listening to our mind comes at no cost and ultimate ease of doing, sometimes we must question if what we are being fed makes sense at all.

It might take more repeat attempts than we’d expect, but if we remain aware of these biases impacting our thought processes —we’ll make it through to other side, when it’s no longer a task to ignore them.

It is only when we know what’s getting in our way, that we can work to control it in a way that it ceases to.

Negative thinking is not insidious by itself; it is how we make it out to be — but if we learn to stop it in its tracks, eventually we can free ourselves from it.