Identify factors that influence your present thinking.

The factors that influence my present thinking are varied, and range from external influences such as friends, family and the media, to internal influences such as emotions, values and beliefs.

External Influences: Friends and family have a significant impact on my thinking. My closest friends provide me with the support I need when making decisions or forming opinions about particular issues; they often share their perspectives on a variety of topics which allows me to expand my knowledge base and form my own opinion after considering theirs. Similarly, advice from family members is highly influential in how I think because they have valuable life experience which allows them to provide wise counsel.

In addition to this, the media has had an undeniable effect on my thought process too. Social media platforms like Twitter can be useful in keeping up-to-date with current affairs but also serve as a form of entertainment by allowing access to news stories, celebrity gossip etc., all of which can trigger thoughts related to those topics within me. Moreover, films/tv series have exposed me to different perspectives on certain issues which have broadened my outlook; conversations revolving around these films/tv series have enabled me develop more understanding of various viewpoints concerning those issues.

Internal Influences: Internal factors such as emotions play an important role in influencing how I think too. If for example I am feeling frustrated about something then it will likely affect how much attention I pay when processing information associated with that topic or around similar ones; if there’s persistent negativity towards the subject matter then chances are it will lead me towards forming negative thoughts about it which could potentially distort the way I perceive it going forward unless challenged appropriately within myself or externally by someone else offering a different interpretation & perspective..

My values & beliefs are also strongly influential in determining how I think since what matters most is typically at the forefront of my mind whenever engaging with any new situation/information; this helps ensure that whatever conclusions or opinions formed result from taking into account not only facts but cognitive biases based off personal principles & standards held dear that may even conflict with each other sometimes (e.g religious views vs scientific evidence).

Finally, personality traits shape how I view things too due to their role in defining behavioral patterns exhibited while interacting with others; for instance extroverts generally tend to remain interactive during conversations whereas introverts might prefer listening instead leading both individuals towards deriving slightly different meanings out of discussed topics – ultimately resulting in differing ways of interpreting them depending on individual personalities