Topic: How Going to the "Meta Level" Keeps You Moving Forward

When you "go to the 'meta level,'" you stop doing whatever you were doing in order to observe your mental operations, with the goal of making those mental operations more effective.

Instead of running around with your head cut off, you pause to notice you are overloaded or triggered or tense. Instead of complaining to everyone who will listen, you pause to notice that you are feeling guilty or angry or afraid. Instead of try, try, trying again to do something the way it "should" work, you pause to notice that you are not being careful enough or you have tunnel vision or you don't know really what you're doing.

Going to the "meta level" is a critical skill of self-direction. In order to manage your mind, you need to observe it. You need to be able to assess how it's operating and what you need to do to keep it operating. In this class we will discuss:

- The signs you need to go to the "meta level"
- Your only goal once you get there
- How to set your purpose for re-entry to normal operations, especially if you seem to be in a dysfunctional state
- How to avoid turning "going to the 'meta level'" into an orgy of self-criticism
- Why "meta level" thinking is essential to maintaining forward progress when you are doing something new, non-routine, or at the next level of difficulty

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