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Our body grows automatically but we have to put effort into effective thinking. We do not have to worry about our hair growth but to think productively and insightfully we need to concentrate. In the below article, I am sharing the 6 ways that can help everyone to improve productivity and authenticity of values that I learned from "How To Think More Effectively?" from The School of Life.
1. Evaluate your goals, ideas, and thought
How much time do you spend planning and strategizing an action and how much time do you spend on executing the action? If you spend 5% in planning then upgrade it to 15-20%. Initially, it would be discomforting to contemplate your ideas, purpose, and values. But there is no quick fix to this inconvenience. Try practicing it is a simple answer. You may ask in your head "why?", "how much?", "to what end?", or "to what importance" about your purposes and goals.
It may take longer, this transition from impulsive action to a more discriminating, evaluating, disposition will make your thinking richer, subtler, and more effective.
2. Accept the fact that ideas grow haphazardly
We all face a delusion, after reading a book or watching a movie, that the writer and the director composed the ideas and the words straightforwardly and effortlessly. However, the fact is the human brain is a fitful instrument. It does not concentrate on the same topic for long hours at a time. It kicks start an idea, making a leap forward then sudden idleness for a while.
This should not dishearten us at all. The solution to this limitation is simple. Buy a notebook and record your developing ideas from time to time as they pop up in your mind. This activity will give you a chance to work on the same concept until its realization.
3. Distract your mind to catch slippery ideas
A Russian-born famous novelist, Vladimir Nabokov, once compared writing to butterfly hunting. Just like a butterfly hunter, the writer has to persuade the thought, excitements, and commotions to move towards the nets of language and conscientiousness.
Catching a butterfly is not easy - but it is possible. One surprising way of capturing your most elusive thoughts is to put down your net and think about something else. Strange though it sounds, some types of low-level distraction can help you catch the insightful, flighty thoughts - distractions like shampooing your hair in the shower or staring out the window of a train.
4. use Envy to pin down your true desires
We all feel envy about something we do not have but we do not acknowledge it because of the moral teachings. What if, instead of repressing our envious thoughts, we examine them and understand their implications?
The partner you want, the job you desire, or the house you want to live in: each stab of envy you feel can help spell these things out more clearly. If you want to learn from envy, it is important to be precise. It is not enough to say that Yvonne from work makes you feel envious - you need to zero in on exactly what Yvonne possesses that you want. It is important to do some analysis. If you do not do it, things will remain cloudy and muddled.
5. think about your Death to get a perspective
It sounds odd, but thinking about death has two seemingly opposite effects on people's attitudes towards life. One is to make everything seem very serious and weighty; the other is to make everything seem trivial and unimportant. How come?
Thinking about death makes things seem serious because it reminds us our time on Earth is finite. The fact our lives are finite confers value on every moment we spend above ground. Why waste a single day more on a terrible job, or with a partner we do not love? Life is too valuable for that.
The flipside of death is that it can also make our deepest concerns seem completely unimportant. Who cares if you did not land that job? Before long you will be a pile of bones anyway. Your crush rejected you once more? So what! Who is going to care when you are six feet under? Thinking about the destination we are all heading toward can make the details of our journey seem pretty unimportant.
Whether thinking about death makes you feel liberated or grave, determined or carefree, chances are that it does change your perspective on things.
6. question your own Beliefs
Skepticism originally referred to a school of thought in ancient Greece – one that emphasized just how little we humans can ever know about the world. As the ancient Skeptics pointed out, our minds are subject to innumerable distortions, biases, and errors. To doubt ourselves is often the wisest course of action.
That is not to say that a skeptic should never adopt a certain viewpoint, of course, they should. But when they lay out their opinions, they do it in a precise, considered, and tentative manner. Skeptical thinkers have learned to be suspicious of hasty generalizations and sweeping statements.
SUMMARY
It is amazing what you can achieve when you change the way you think. That means thinking about why you do things, and not just how – you should always take the time to assess your ideas and goals. It is also important to accept that thinking develops in fits and starts; novel ideas are hard to pin down. You can try a few tricks to think more effectively, like distracting yourself a little, identifying the roots of your envy, and reflecting on death. But whatever you do, stay skeptical. In other words, keep on thinking. To remember these ideas, consider BE DEAD.
Do you believe in this article as it is or are you skeptical about it? Share your thought in the comments section.
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