In Sweden, we have a proverb that goes, “Think of what you say, so that you don’t say what you think.”

It might seem like good advice — but then again, is it really?

Obviously, the intent is to prevent us from blurting out offensive or hurtful remarks without paying attention to others’ feelings — or, alternatively, from exposing our own thoughts to unwanted scrutiny.

But what if we changed it to: “Think about what you think, so that you know what you say”?

The latter version adds more value. It actually does two things. Firstly, it prompts us to reflect on our own minds — and on our perhaps unchecked, biased thinking. This, in turn, makes us more honest, both with ourselves and with the world around us.

And not only that — it encourages us to actually think about what we think.

To be honest, we often waste our capacity for thought on nonsense that does not really lead us anywhere.