One day I was surprised to realize that the less I concentrate on a particular idea or task, the easier it is to solve. This probably sounds very strange, since it contradicts everything that we are taught in school, but for last years I have verified this dozens of times.
The simplest example is the letters that I have to write in considerable numbers, and which are not concise due to the complexity of the questions I am asked. So: surprisingly, but my main task is not to think at all about what I am writing, but rather to listen to how my fingers tap on the keyboard. And the more distinct and dynamic these sounds are, the less I look at the screen, but only watch the play of my fingers and listen to the drumming of the keys, the better the text turns out. And, on the contrary, the more carefully I follow the spelling of words, the correct placement of commas and all other punctuation marks, the more difficult it becomes to write, the dissatisfaction with what is written increases, you begin to strive to correct, change, rewrite something.
And if only letters to write! So no, I gradually discover that many other processes go much more successfully if you think about something extraneous or not think at all, but follow, for example, how it sounds own voice, or tapping a melody on the table with your fingers. And at the same time, carefully monitor - if you didn’t go out of tune on this note, and if you did out of tune, then try to knock it one more time. And this is with very serious conversations, from which many people then wrap their foreheads in towels and swallow analgin. I only heard about the towel and I know about analgin from Bolshoy Medical Encyclopedia. But for some reason, the most complex issues tend to be resolved relatively easily. The main thing is to pull your leg or stroke the back of the chair. And the more you pull and stroke, the more original ideas come to mind.
If you've seen a great movie with Cruise and Nicholson "A Few Good Men", then I think you remember that curious moment when main character(Cruz) is looking for his baseball bat, because when he holds a baseball bat, he thinks more easily. What can the process of active thinking have in common (and according to the plot goes discussion of strategy in court, Cruz playing the role of a military lawyer) and holding a baseball bat in his hand? Nothing. However, I am not only sure that it really helps, but I myself use this technique all the time. The reception is very simple: participating in the discussion of any issues, while I try (if possible, of course) to walk. Just walk in circles, back and forth, or whatever. Doesn't matter. I move and feel how I move. At the same time, it turns out that I am saying quite sensible things or a wonderful solution comes to mind.
Of course, all these things can be explained by an elementary self-induced trance. This thing has become almost everyday and in the world millions of people are able to quickly enter a state of trance in any situation, after which problems are solved for some reason much more efficiently. My last experience of a quick trance plunge was extremely forced, because I came to the exam and did not remember anything - absolutely nothing! But there is nowhere to go and you need to pass the exam ... Yes, one more thing. If someone is familiar with such techniques and can quickly enter a trance state (and I can do this in twenty seconds without any nonsense from an NLP textbook, or there is a wonderful "super reliable technique" by Betty Erickson or someone. This super reliable technique may take one and a half or two pages of neat typewritten text, and you will have to sweat quite a lot before you plunge into the desired state ...), and so, if anyone knows how to do this, then he probably knows that a person in an active state of trance is very often looks, at least, strange and ridiculous. I know this, and have heard it from others more than once, so, sitting in front of the teacher, I warned him that I was not feeling well, I was nervous and my speech would be somewhat excited, and at the same time I did not look the best. After that, I looked past the teacher's left shoulder to a certain point, fixed my gaze there, and allowed myself to speak. He allowed it, because I don’t remember at all what, in fact, I told him. I woke up from his words: "Well, if you answer an additional question, then I'll put the top five." I said that I was quite satisfied with the four and we parted nicely, pleased with each other ...
"Exploding the mind" - the often expressed goal of training - is only a public expression of the traditional goal of Zen training. Meditation gradually leads to a liberating experience that explodes the logical rationality of the mind, and the student achieves satori. In both satori and "getting it," the individual has an experience in which hopes, efforts, good and evil, and getting it, and enlightenment, all lose importance, and he finds himself with what is, experiencing what is, and content with what is. The intellectual framing of the enlightening experience is not essential, since the main result is the disappearance of the intellect as a filter of experience.
The above examples of baseball bats, finger tapping, and passing exams can, in principle, be interpreted in very different ways. I have already given you one interpretation: in a state of arbitrarily arising or self-induced trance, a person is able to generate ideas and solve problems that he will not always be able to solve if he thinks about them - think in the usual and ordinary sense of the word. The brain, freed from the many obstacles and barriers that a person erects throughout life, is able to create incredible things. Curious in this regard is the literal message that is often uttered when trying to achieve a trance state - I cannot overcome the barrier, there is some kind of wall in front of me. What kind of wall is this - the devil knows, but the best and most effective thing, according to my observations, is to move forward as if it does not exist at all. It does not need to be overcome, to reflect on its origin and properties, but only to walk, as if you are able to pass through walls ... The second interpretation can be even simpler: the movement either causes a slight trance, or is able to somewhat reorganize your thinking resources, so that it is quite possible to try to solve some difficult problem by ironing clothes or moving furniture. Try to think motorically and you may find that you get something interesting and unusual... The third explanation is even simpler than the first two - in most cases, a person receives the most relevant information in a state of movement (!), therefore, when moving, you activate the resources of the so-called motor or bodily memory. A person instinctively understands this, and therefore rushes around the apartment in search of a key - he actually remembers, and does not get nervous and does not fuss about how much in vain. The chances that, going around the apartment, he will remember the necessary things are much greater than if he sits in a chair and tries to concentrate. So if one day I become a practicing psychologist, I will not sit in a chair with my patient, but I will offer him walking therapy or jogging therapy. And I am sure that in many cases it will be many times more effective than all armchair and chair psychotherapy options.
Another interesting explanation is very close to the above quote from Werner Erhard's training - the intellectual process in its usual form is either of little or no use at all. It will come in handy when it is necessary to formalize some routine task, however, in the creative process, in the process of searching and actively interacting with the world, the role of the rational is not so significant. Here is how Ernst Tsvetkov writes about this:
All sorts of references to such manifestations of mental activity as "illumination", "insight", "sudden dream breakthroughs" indicate that the creative process is almost entirely determined by what does not fit into the rational framework. An appeal to logic is observed later, at the stage when a discovery or theory needs to be described and explained ... History shows that not a single discovery was made through "correct thinking and competent conclusions", regardless of what science they were in committed - mathematics, history, physics, logic or psychology.
This quote. And here are the facts. Mendeleev, as you know, the final version of his table just dreamed, the plan "Woe from Wit" came to Griboedov in a dream, Dostoevsky had the theme "Teenager" in a dream, Pushkin - the idea of "Prophet". Kekula dreamed of snakes biting their own tail, the image of which solved his problem of the structure of the benzene formula. Miller accidentally makes an experiment that later became a classic, Sperry dissects the interhemispheric connections in an epileptic and does not suspect what a startling discovery this will lead to.
"Some of the substances that form the basis of the international pharmacopoeia were discovered as a result of millions of experiments, and the most effective of them, as a rule, were discovered by chance, outside the research program."
"After forty thousand experiments, we isolated five products. The only drug that was then put on the market, we found outside of our research. Its psychotropic effect was discovered completely by accident."
And this is another interesting explanation for what I said above. In principle, it is not very important how, from a wide range of possibilities, you turn off your analytical part, your rational part, so that the liberated unconscious (subconscious) solves a complex creative or practical task for you. You can practice at your leisure - in motion, using the manipulation of a particular object, plunging into a trance, or even all at once. Here, of course, there is no equally suitable recipe, but one of the many will suit you for sure. Be sure to try.
And here, not so long ago, I mastered a more complicated thing - I begin to make some synchronous movement (for example, lightly pat my hands on the sides or try to shift the center of gravity when walking on my toes), quickly enter a trance and begin, as it were, to observe myself from the side of strangers eyes. It’s as if some stranger is clapping his hands, and I’m completely different and I’m watching him. This amuses me a lot and at the same moment various interesting thoughts and fresh solutions for a particular workflow come. Where do they come from, these decisions? And the jester knows them, my dear readers! They take and take. And where - this is no longer a question for me. Or rather, not quite to me, but to my creative part. I'll go and ask, can he tell?
At any age, you can improve your mental abilities. Human appearance is difficult to correct, but one can improve one's inner essence all one's life. Let's talk about how to learn to think in general, how to learn to think logically and All this is very important for self-development.
Analyze
To train your brain to think, you need to set aside at least a small part of your day for this. If you don't have much time to spare, meditate on your way to work or the store, while cooking or walking your dog. You should always use unique ability brain to perform several tasks simultaneously.
What do you need to think about? We will never grow as individuals unless we learn to analyze. Moreover, you can analyze almost everything, even that which does not concern us in any way. Remember and evaluate your own and other people's actions and words. Think about how they influenced you or those around you, what they eventually led to, what should have been done wrong. But be careful not to reminisce so much that you forget the present and the future.
Plan
In addition to analyzing everything that has already passed in your life, it is worth thinking about what is yet to come. Always plan to be better. After analyzing past actions and incidents in your life, think about how to prevent mistakes from happening again. Try to anticipate difficult situations that may arise in your life tomorrow or in a week, and imagine several options for your reaction to them, and then choose the best one in your opinion.
Be sure to keep your brain thinking about goals. How to learn to think about your goals constantly and not forget about them? You can write them down on a piece of paper, and then constantly review this list, reviving in memory. Build intermediate goals for each day, week and month. Imagine your future, draw its possible scenarios, think about it all the time, in practice.
be careful
Any information perceived by a person first enters the brain areas responsible for processing unconscious information, and only after that their interaction with the zones that become activated when a person realizes it begins. Information that has reached the level of consciousness, we can actively use and remember even after a year. And everything that remains in the area of our subconscious can only work for us as intuition.
Why is it important to remember this feature of the brain for those who are wondering how to learn to think correctly? The thing is that if you want some information to remain in your memory and you can then use it for your thoughts, you need to take a special interest in it. Only in this case, it will break through from your subconscious into consciousness and will be available to you in the future.
Therefore, everyone who constantly repeats to himself: “I want to learn to think”, first of all, you need to say to yourself: “I want to be attentive to what I hear and see.” The human brain does not independently determine what information is important and what is not. Everything that we do not pay special conscious attention to, he does not consider important and leaves it at the level of the subconscious inaccessible to us.
For example, we remember (because we realized) that we met a friend on the way to work, but we never remember hundreds of other faces we saw at that time. There is only one conclusion: be extremely focused on the information that you consider valuable for yourself, try to develop the most sincere interest in it. Then it will not escape your consciousness, and you will be able to use it for deep reflection.
Be inquisitive
Do not limit yourself to too narrow a circle of interests, because there are so many exciting things in the world that you should think about. For example, you go to work and notice a small snail on the road. Instead of just picking it up and taking it to the grass, stop and think: how does this tiny creature live, what does it eat and how does it raise its children? Assuming some answers, do not forget to search the Internet for reliable information about this when you return from work and compare it with your assumptions.
Have you ever thought, looking at the sky, why it is blue or why the sun shines and warms us, how the leaves of plants purify the air, or in what colors cats and dogs see the world? And how is our eye arranged, that we see all this? If you accustom yourself to always look around and take a keen interest in everything that surrounds us, you can not only accustom your brain to active work, but also make your life much more interesting.
Make up your own exercises
To the question of how to learn to think for yourself, there are many other answers. Connect your imagination and come up with tasks for yourself that will help you perceive ordinary things and situations in a completely new way. For example, experts advise each time to get to work in new ways, go to other stores, replace your everyday phrases with new ones that are unusual for you. Improves mental ability foreign language and reading books. Try to periodically change the format of films and music familiar to you - introduce something new into your life.
Do not immediately believe everything that you are told. Explore the issue yourself, ask those who know more about it, and then, having a sufficient number of facts, draw your own conclusions. This may take some time and effort, but it will definitely add wisdom and experience. Always try to have your own opinion based on facts.
Think in game
There are a number of entertaining games that "pump" our brain. All kinds of crosswords and puzzles will be excellent "weights" for him. In addition, you can find an infinite number of different games on the Internet that make us analyze, compare, remember and plan. Many modern computer games are the answer to the question of how to learn to think quickly. In many of them, to win, you need a good reaction and the ability to make decisions instantly.
Board games such as chess, checkers and various card games, unfairly forgotten today, perfectly help to develop logic. Don't neglect them. Also on sale are all sorts of board games that require the attention of the participants, the development of tactics and their own strategy. Such a fun and exciting path to self-development is certainly worthy of special attention.
Develop positive thinking
If you want to truly develop as a person, avoid negative thoughts, as they extinguish even the most ardent aspirations and significantly reduce the potential available. In addition, anger, resentment, disappointment and envy are extremely Negative influence on human health, causing problems with the circulatory and digestive systems, headache and insomnia, as well as various emotional and mental disorders.
But how do you learn to think positively? First of all, you need to make it a rule to carefully monitor the constantly changing thoughts in your head. As soon as a negative one comes across, immediately stop it and replace it with a positive one. Never let the thoughts in your head fly chaotically, on their own. Such conscious efforts will surely result in the fact that you will develop the habit of thinking positively about everything.
Until you develop a solid habit of positive thinking, surround yourself with those who are already doing it. Always, even when you are not in the mood at all, keep on your face, have a friendly and grateful attitude towards everyone. Notice all the beauty of the world and all the good things that happen to you.
How to overcome laziness
Many of those people who wonder how to learn to think are actually good at it, but simply do not use this magnificent ability. The reason for this is trivially simple - mother laziness. Thinking activity sometimes absorbs as much energy as hard physical labor. Therefore, protecting its energy reserves, the body hardly agrees to make such sacrifices. This is why it is sometimes so hard for us to force ourselves or our children to think, this is where laziness takes its roots.
If our goal is not degradation, but personal growth, you need to make every effort every day to make your brain work. Do not be afraid to overwork him - the brain never gets tired, only we get tired. But remember that the more we get tired of intense thinking, the smarter and more developed we become. It also improves our memory and intelligence. We become more self-confident, interesting and useful to others, and our life is more exciting and happier.
Have you ever had moments when you thought very quickly and easily? When did a solution or an answer almost come to mind without any effort? I think yes, everyone knows this feeling. There are other situations when the head is overloaded, and you don’t want to think about anything, and thoughts drag on very slowly, as if bogged down in a web.
These two different states are familiar to everyone. The first is when your brain is alert, and your mind is full of energy, trained to think correctly, and clear of the extra noise of unnecessary thoughts. At this point, you acquire the ability to think quickly. The second state is when the brain is tired and the mind is cluttered and lazy.
In the first state, you can solve any questions at all, come up with a solution to any problem in one fell swoop, write a book or a picture, create a new miracle of technology, instantly come up with the right answers in an important conversation, but you can do anything. But the second state is completely unproductive and you need to get rid of it.
And how often do you experience this very first state? Do you want it to be with you always? Do you want to learn how to think quickly, not only in moments of insight, but every time you need it? Let's figure out how to think faster.
How to learn to think fast
Preparation
First you need to understand how everything works. The speed of our thinking and decision-making depends on the brain and condition nervous system. From this we conclude that in order to think very quickly, we must first put our body and mind in order.
What does it mean?
- We should feel cheerful and full of energy. After all, the brain consumes 1/3 of all the energy of our body for its work. And where can I get it? Here will help you healthy sleep at least 8 hours per day. Moreover, it is desirable to create the correct daily routine, go to bed and wake up at the same time. If at all in a good way, then you need to go to bed before 24 hours (from about 22 to 24 hours the brain rests best).
- Next, you need to pay attention to proper nutrition . Your diet should consist of foods that actively nourish the brain with useful substances, and the body with energy (calories). Useful food for the brain and exercises for its development can be found in this.
- Now regarding psyche. If you are anxious, tense, irritable, you can not think about any speed of thinking. Imagine a water surface. When it is calm, the signals in your brain are transmitted as quickly and clearly as possible, without loss of information. When a storm begins on the water, a storm, the passage of signals is very difficult. Therefore, you must be calm. In our time, of course, this is not an easy task, but it is a prerequisite.
Useful Skills to Learn to Think Fast
No extra noise
Now let's talk about the skills that you need to develop in yourself if you want to learn how to think quickly. And the first is turning off the internal dialogue and, in general, the mental noise in the head. I think it is not necessary to give many examples. Everyone already knows the state when there are a lot of thoughts in the head. They jump from branch to branch like monkeys.
All unnecessary noise must be learned to turn off. To do this, you can practice meditation. Or simply by an effort of will to pay attention to your thoughts and calm your mind. Turn it into a quiet sea surface. Every time you do this, you are exercising. And every time it will turn out faster and faster.
Complete focus
The next skill is the ability to focus. When you have completed the first stage and got rid of unnecessary noise, you should learn to instantly direct all your attention to the desired object, to the problem being solved. It is easy to learn this, the techniques are described in this.
Planning / modeling the situation
Another useful skill is planning or modeling the situation. For example, if you know that you have a business conversation ahead, then try to put yourself in the place of your interlocutor and think about what he could say to you. After that, figure out what you will answer to each of his phrases. And what will you answer if he says something that you are not ready for and you need time to think about how you will behave in this situation.
This approach is very similar to preparing for any kind of work, you simply lay out all the necessary tools in advance and you do not need to spend a lot of time looking for them, you can instantly orient yourself in any situation.
Need more knowledge
Even grandfather Lenin said - study, study and study again! These are evil words. Clever man, this is primarily a knowledgeable person. The baggage of knowledge will never burden, but on the contrary, it will allow you to understand any business or give you a wonderful skill - the ability to learn quickly, because you have done this more than once. Therefore, read a lot, about everything that interests you, you never know what knowledge will be useful tomorrow.
brain training
As you know, we think with the brain, which means that the better our brain is trained, the faster it thinks. Therefore, set aside at least 5-10 minutes a day for training, and do the exercises described in this.
So we figured out how to think quickly. All of these methods and exercises should be repeated daily and become a way of life. Then you will notice that the speed and clarity of your thinking has improved significantly, and this is a very pleasant and extremely useful quality. Good luck!
Regardless of the social status and age of a person, everyone can learn to think effectively. Our BrainApps team is convinced to learn, how to think effectively, everyone can, the main thing is to train and properly distribute forces. After all, what is effective thinking? This is the development of memory, creativity, concentration. Our simulators will help you quickly and efficiently "pump" your skills, and you can find out about the results in personal account. But already now you can start thinking effectively, using our advice.
The art of thinking effectively and positively
Every day, most of the thought flow in the mind of a person is a repetition of yesterday's thoughts. That is, in order to learn to think more efficiently, you cannot wait for instant results. At the very least, it will take a few weeks before you and your loved ones notice an improvement, until the renewal of the habitual thought flow is over.
Have you noticed how negative thoughts negatively affect the fate of a person? Many losers do nothing but repeat that they are unlucky. And the lucky ones, meanwhile, affirmatively declare: “I'm lucky!”. From year to year, a person himself programs his consciousness.
The American geneticist Bruce Lipton in his research proved that directed mental influence can change the human genetic code organism. But for this it is necessary that the desire is in the subconscious of a person. Examples would be cases where the undeniable belief of a pregnant woman that her child would be healthy after birth baffled many doctors on the planet who were sure that the fetus would not survive.
Therefore, it is very important not only to think effectively, but also to think positively in order to change your life for the better. If you have problems - lack of time, energy or health, just stop and think about ways to solve them, and soon several optimal options will appear in your brain.
How to think effectively and manage thoughts?
To learn how to think effectively, you should put things in order in your head and manage your thoughts. Modern man is overwhelmed with gigabytes of information. The flow of words, sounds, smells comes from everywhere and sometimes it is necessary to take time to be alone with yourself. You can put your thoughts in order on a walk in the fresh air, sitting at home or traveling, the main thing is that no one distracts you.
Be sure to follow the direction of your thoughts. How often do you have to "head in the clouds"? Effective and rational thinking must meet the following criteria:
- Thought flow directed. People who think about everything at once, as a rule, do not succeed.
- Thoughts should be structured and written down. More effective and successful are those people who have a diary (and often more than one).
- Thoughts love order and silence. Make time for relaxation.
- Parallel processes are a destructive force for mental activity. It is impossible to think effectively while doing something at this moment.
Phenomenal intelligence with BrainApps
We are convinced that everyone can acquire phenomenal abilities if they practice regularly. The development of memory contributes to effective thinking and helps in everyday matters. Your intellect will develop if you write down your thoughts more, learn to structure them, divide them into tasks and subtasks. Successful people with effective thinking strive for self-knowledge and self-learning. Don’t let the fact that you don’t know something stop you, explore any question and problem with meticulousness, look for extraordinary solutions and don’t let your brain “dry out”!
Yes, in children's educational games. Designed for the development of children, they are great for adults. The range of educational games is very wide. There are electronic construction kits like SnapCircuits, and board card games (Swish, Set), and games for smartphones and tablets, for example, Gravity Maze. By playing games, you will not only develop the skill of thinking outside the box, but also have a great time with friends or children.
2. Connect with people
Despite the abundance of various sources of information, other people are still able to give us new ideas. By meeting with the unique experience of another person, we significantly enrich our understanding of the world (or of a particular problem). And it is not at all necessary to communicate with the luminaries of science or financial gurus.
Career consultant Gia Ganesh cites a conversation she had with a granite builder as an example. It turned out that the guy was from Cuba. He told how he came to the USA and how he got this job. The conversation prompted Gia to interesting thoughts about migration and choosing a profession, suggested ideas for new research.
3. Get a new experience
To think differently, you need to live differently. Give up habitual patterns of behavior, destroy the established way of life, break stereotypes. Prepare new dishes, change the route from home to work and look around more. Try wearing clothes that are uncharacteristic for your image, change your hairstyle.
A great way to learn something new - . Other countries, other cultures, unusual surroundings - all this gives a good stimulus for the work of thinking. Especially if you don’t miss the opportunity to make new acquaintances while traveling.
4. Explore unusual ideas
There is no lack of information in our age. On the contrary, there is even too much of it around. But not all of it deserves attention. Really worthwhile ideas have to be found, but doing this is much easier than 100 or even 50 years ago. Read more! , articles on the Internet and magazines. Look everywhere for fresh ideas, new views and non-standard approaches.
Thinking differently is good, but not enough. You must be able to formulate and defend your original ideas.
Have own opinion different from the generally accepted one is not always simple. The social pressure of the majority is great, and very often society is able to impose a collective point of view on individuals. The following are a few ways to help develop and defend your own opinion.
5. Be Factual
This seemingly elementary principle is violated too often. Emotions, speculation, expectations, assumptions, rumors… All this is not good. Start with simple questions: “How do I know this is true?” “What facts support my opinion?” If there are not enough facts, then you have to look for them.
6. State your opinion in writing
Imagine that you need to convince someone and write a letter for this. A written presentation will help to formulate your thoughts more clearly, to trace a logical chain of conclusions and conclusions. Diagrams and drawings will make your ideas more clear and visual. Such a blank will be very helpful if you really need to or defend your point of view in the discussion.
7. Discuss
Group discussion is both a test of your ideas and a means to find new solutions to old problems. The most useful are specially organized discussions. Almost any topic can be chosen: from politics to football. Divide the group into two teams and have them defend opposite points of view. It is better to limit the time allotted to each participant - this helps to formulate your arguments clearly and concisely.
8. Be objective
Advice from the category of those that are easy to give, but difficult to carry out. Each of us is inclined to consider his opinion, if not the only true, then certainly not erroneous. But even the ancients said that it is human nature to err. We look at the world through the prism of our experience and very often see only what we want to see.
When developing your own opinion, it is important to get rid of bias in the selection and evaluation of available information. Have we really considered all the available facts? Have we exaggerated the significance of some facts to suit our expectations? Are there alternative points of view? These and other similar questions will help you be more objective and independent of anyone else's biases. Even from your own.
This is not an exhaustive list of ways to help think differently and shape. What methods do you use?
