Step-by-Step Explanation of
A Typical Thought Process

Making a Decision

Summary

• The first step explains how your interactions from your ongoing experience are segregated and processed in two different ways - Step 1
• The next step explains how parts of your experiences are pre-evaluated before they enter consciousness - Step 2a1
• The next step explains why some of your interactions, based on interaction processing in the previous step, are executed automatically, i.e. without you consciously executing them. It also explains the degree of control you have over conscious, subconscious and unconscious interactions by explaining their underlying mechanisms, which are the basis of your initial reflexes, intuitions, gut feelings, habitual behaviours, phobias, etc. - Step 2a2
• The next step explains when you become conscious of the experience you are having - Step 2b1
• The next 3 steps explain how you become aware of various aspects of the experience you are having, which makes it easy for you to ponder over them. E.g. on meeting your friend, you become aware that he owes you money and that you had met his family last week - Steps 2b2, 2b3 and 2b4
• The next step explains how you evaluate various aspects of the experience you have pondered upon in the previous step, as in the example given in the previous step, does the person’s brother repeatedly borrow money from you, what is the probability of him returning the money, etc. Such processing also enriches your perception - Step 2b5
• The next step explains how you become aware of the entire ongoing interaction - Step 3
• The next 5 steps explain how you gain sufficient information to make decisions based on your overall personality, skills, genetic predispositions, habits, knowledge, etc. - Steps 4a1, 4a2, 4b1, 4b2 and 5
• The next step explains how you make decisions based on information gained in the previous step - Step 6a
• The next step explains how your thoughts are converted into language, which is the basis of the inner voice you hear while thinking - Step 6b
• The next step explains how you consider other people if they are involved or are likely to get involved in the interaction to make your decisions more effective - Step 6c
• The next step explains what is the basis of intuition, gut feelings, eureka moments, etc. that occur during the thought process - Step 6d
• The next step explains how you, based on your personality, knowledge, skills, genetic predispositions, habits, etc., judge and finalize which of the decisions you had come up with earlier to handle your ongoing interaction is the best for execution, which then becomes your goal - Step 7
• The next step explains how you select thoughts, views, opinions, etc. to be communicated to others in verbal or written form and what you do to make them effective. It also explains the basis of non-verbal communication like gestures, facial expressions, etc. - Step 8
• The last step explains how and when the finalized decision is executed - Step 9

• Why you think in language
• Why only a part of your thought process is in language
• What is the reason behind chain of thoughts in a thought process
• How is it possible for you to be aware of many things when you can pay attention to only one
• What are the limitations of the thought process in nonhuman organisms and
• Why language is one of the biggest, if not the only, contributing factors for the intelligence of mankind