Thank you for that perspective, Erik.

“Balance in all things” is a useful compass. I believe you refer to Aristotle’s idea of The Golden Mean.
In a similar spirit, the Buddha’s Middle Way cautions against swinging to extremes.

Modern psychology increasingly emphasises flexibility over static balance. What matters is whether our thinking and attention can shift with context — stepping back from self-focus when it becomes unhelpful, and stepping in when reflection is needed.

Perhaps the aim isn’t perfect balance in all things, but enough mental flexibility to live in line with what matters to us — psychologically speaking.

On another topic – I must apologize to the people of Denmark for the behavior of the president of the United States. I assure you that such behavior is NOT representative of the feelings of the vast majority of the people of this country!

Be well – love to all.

Erik

Metacognitive strategies can be useful for students with anxiety in school — but not in the traditional “challenge the thought” or “think more positively” sense. The focus in metacognitive approaches is not the content of thoughts, but the student’s relationship to thoughts: how they respond to worry, rumination, and threat monitoring.

In an educational setting, this means supporting students in:
• spending less time mentally monitoring themselves
• letting go of the need to control thoughts and feelings
• returning attention to the task and the social context

Many anxious students invest a great deal of cognitive energy in:
• anticipating mistakes
• scanning for social threat
• thinking about how they are being evaluated

Metacognitive strategies here may involve:
• postponing worry (e.g., scheduled worry time outside school hours)
• normalising that thoughts can be present without requiring action
• allowing discomfort to pass without switching into problem-solving mode

The goal is not to make the student “calm” — but to reduce the time spent in the worry system, freeing up cognitive capacity for learning.

Hi there,

In MCT, we practice both passive and active forms of attention. We use the Attention Training Technique to actively shift attention and increase meta-awareness, while we use detached mindfulness to passively observe thoughts and feelings as they come and go.

Meta-awareness is developed over time.

Best of luck,
Simon Moesgaard

I have a question about attention and the role of attention control in MCT. Is attention control an active skill that one develops over time—specifically, the ability to consciously direct and shift attention away from internal events and emotions? Or is it more of a passive process?

Thanks !