How to learn to think: recommendations and effective tips.

Greetings to all those who like to think! We thought there would be something like “deduction”, “induction” and other logical operations. No, the thinking techniques that will be given below are much more cunning and practice-oriented. After all, how will knowledge of the mental operations of Aristotelian logic help you in solving everyday problems? That's right, no way. But using the methods below will help you make decisions much more accurately.

Will be given first general scheme how to think correctly (the basis for it is given in the article “What is the difference between losers and successful people"). And then you will become familiar with practical methods that allow you to analyze many issues from the inside.

How to think correctly?

This scheme was taken from Konstantin Sheremetyev, and today I consider it the most sensible of all possible. Because it brings the most useful results.

You need to divide a piece of paper into three columns:

1. what is available?
2. what should be done?
3. what do you need to get?

First, you write in the third column what you want to receive. For example, you want a good, warm, emotional relationship with an understanding partner. Then in the first column you write down what you have (for example, short-term fleeting connections). And based on this, fill out the second column with those points that are obvious to you. For example, here it is clear that we need:

• a person with whom you can build such a relationship
• knowledge of how to properly meet such people and where to look for them
• a set of actions aimed at meeting such people
• understanding what mistakes were made earlier, that it was not possible to get along with such a person

After the first sketches, you can begin to take action, and further adjust them as you get results.

Look into cause and effect

Suppose a person asks you for a loan, promising to return the money in a year. And you lend him this money, seriously expecting a return. And what’s more, you’re indignant when he not only doesn’t return the money by the specified deadline, but also cuts off contact with you.

How to look at this problem correctly? The reason for taking on debt is inability to handle money. That is, a person does not know how to earn or spend them. Can his financial situation improve and therefore will the money be returned? Possible, but unlikely. Because the consequence of inability to handle money is its absence.

It follows that if you lend a certain amount to a person, you should not expect it to be returned.

Another example: your computer has broken down. You somehow repaired it, but after a while it broke again, and in a similar way. Since similar breakdowns occur more than once, there must be a reason. And if you do not determine the root of the problem, the result will be regular periodic breakdowns. If you specialize in the relevant field, you should look into this problem yourself. Otherwise, you need to find an intelligent specialist who will help you find out and eliminate the cause of the breakdown.

Turn your gaze 180 degrees (to solve communication problems)

Very often you see only the behavior of an individual person (group of people). But you don’t see the whole situation. By the way, that’s why you are unhappy with other people’s behavior.

To eliminate misunderstandings, try to get used to the person’s situation. That is, don’t just put yourself in his or her place, but also try to understand how he or she feels. This is not always immediately successful, but with regular practice it allows you to “feel” into the situation of another person much better.

For example, you are annoyed that someone does not answer your messages and calls. You can blame him directly, or you can try to remember your feelings when you ignored someone in the same way. Let me emphasize: it is important to remember exactly your state and your feelings, and not the situation itself. Because the situation is always neutral, and remembering it it is impossible to understand a person’s feelings. But remembering your states, you will grasp sensory understanding much more accurately.

Is someone avoiding you and avoiding meeting you? Remember how you also tried to postpone or avoid meetings with people who did not really appeal to you. This will help break down psychological inertia (it is precisely on this basis that you are indignant about other people’s behavior). And then it will be much easier for you to understand how best to build communication with a person who is avoiding you.

Use mind maps

In the previous article “How to speak so that you are understood,” I talked about a schematic (on paper in the form of a drawing) explanation. You can explain the situation to yourself in the same way. If you feel that you don’t really understand what’s happening yet, just write down everything that you know for sure. And then visualize it as a diagram representing cause and effect. Be sure to place the unknowns on your map and sign them with questions about what you need to know.

An example of a mind map about choosing a gift. Source - https://www.psychologos.ru/articles/view/intellekt-karta (the same Nikolai Kozlov whom I recommended)

Look for the strongest possible moves

Let's say you want to increase your income. To achieve this, it seems that it is enough to work more (i.e., increase the amount of working time). And this solution will work. But there is another solution - increasing sales volumes labor results. And these results can be achieved through the work of many people (that is, you can assemble a team). And as you understand, with joint efforts under your organizational leadership they will produce much larger volumes than you alone.

Therefore, in any problematic situation, try to find the move that will bring you closer to the desired result in the shortest possible time and with minimal effort (as well as costs).

Let's take the same topic of relationships. Let’s say that some person does not respond to your signs of attention, and even if he does, he is in no hurry to build a relationship with you. Of course, you can try to win him/her over with beautiful gestures or good attitude. But subconsciously the strongest attraction is internal sexuality. Therefore, the strongest solution for the long term is revealing one's sexuality, which is written about in the corresponding publication. And at first, the most powerful move will be to determine the reason why this person communicates with you, and based on this, maintain contact with him.

That's all for now. At all logical thinking You could devote an entire book to this topic, so this topic will receive a lot of publication in the future. Subscribe to blog updates so you don't miss them. See you again!

Part 1

Eat different types thinking. There isn't just one the right way think which would be more effective than all others. To learn to think better yourself, you need to understand how you can think in general and how others manage to think.

• Learn to think conceptually. Or, more simply put, learn to identify patterns and connections between abstract ideas, which you will then connect into one big picture. For example, this kind of thinking comes in handy during a chess session - by looking at the board, you will recognize the tactics your opponent is playing and can use counter-tactics.
• Learn to think intuitively. Yes, you also need to listen to your intuition. The brain sometimes processes much more than we can understand - this, in fact, is our intuition. For example, you are a girl who for some reason really doesn’t want to go on a date with a guy who seems nice. Later it turns out that this was the right decision - the guy turned out to be a maniac. What saved you? The brain that picked up some signals that you could not analyze consciously... in other words, intuition!

1. Learn the five thinking styles. The book “The Art of Thinking” (Harrison and Bramson) identifies five main types of thinking: synthetic, idealistic, pragmatic, analytical and realistic. Once you understand what suits you best, you will be able to think better. You can use one or several styles at once, but the more, the better.

   • Synthetic thinkers love conflicts (and are generally crazy about playing the “devil’s advocate”), they often ask “what if” questions. Such conflicts fuel their creativity and often allow them to see the whole situation.
   • Idealists more often see the whole situation at once, rather than any individual component. Idealistic thinkers people are more interesting and out of emotion rather than facts and figures, they also like to think about the future and make plans for it.
   • Pragmatists are those who prefer “what works.” They know how to think quickly, are excellent at planning for the short term, are quite creative and know how to adapt to change. Sometimes they are even capable of impromptu.
   • Analysts break down all problems and situations into smaller components; they are not comfortable working with the entire situation as a whole. Analysts love lists and details, and they respect order.
   • Realists are alien to delusional fantasies. They know how to ask difficult questions and do what is required to resolve the situation. They can keep both the problem and the solutions under control, and also do not lose sight of their own limits of what is possible. Most people have realistic thinking, by the way.

2. Think divergently, not convergently! The latter, in general, is when there are only two options - white and black, good and bad, we and enemies. Divergent thinking allows for the existence of much more wide range possibilities and options.

   • To learn to think divergently, when faced with new people or situations, you need to pay attention to how you perceive it. Are you using only a limited set of options in this (for example, he doesn't want to go out with me - he hates me; he wants to go out with me - he likes me)? Do you often use “either-or” phrases? If you catch yourself thinking this way, stop and think, are these all the options you have? As a rule, there are significantly more options.
   • Convergent thinking is not always bad. In mathematics, for example, it is simply necessary... but in life its relevance is still very limited.

3. Learn to think critically. Critical thinking is an objective analysis of a situation or information by obtaining additional facts and information from third-party sources, on the basis of which you analyze primary information.

   • In general, critical thinking is when you do not accept something for granted without first understanding the issue yourself.
   • However, you will need to understand your own prejudices and biases, and then try to overcome all of this in order to begin to look at the world... more objectively.

   Part 2

   Understanding the basics of thinking

   1. Challenge assumptions. To become a truly effective thinker, you need to learn to challenge and doubt your own assumptions. Your way of thinking is a product of the environment in which you grew up, and you need to think very carefully about whether it is productive and useful.

      Become a curious person! Great thinkers are perhaps the most curious people. They asked themselves questions about the world around them and looked for answers to these questions.

      • Ask people questions about themselves. There is no need to be intrusive, but if you have met someone, then questions like “where from” or “who is their profession” will not hurt. People love to talk about themselves, and you can learn a lot of interesting things that you would never know if you didn't ask questions.
      • See the world through the eyes of a curious child. Are you traveling by plane? Think about how a multi-ton colossus made of steel can fly, how it stays in the air, learn about the history of aircraft construction (don’t just read about the Wright brothers).
      • If you get the opportunity, go to museums - they are free at least once a month, to libraries and any other places where educational events are held.

   2. Look for the “truth”. True, there is one small difficulty here. You see, there is no one common “truth” as such for everyone - there are many small “truths” that everyone has their own. However, the ability to search for the truth in all areas human life It will be useful to you, and it will improve your thinking ability.

      Look for creative solutions. Creativity is a great way to develop a great thinker within yourself. Creative thinking will teach you to respond creatively to unusual problems, no matter where they strike you.

   3. Collect information. By the way, it would be nice to know how to get information from reliable sources - you understand, these days there is a lot of information garbage, which sometimes seems very convincing. Accordingly, you need to be able to distinguish soft from warm... that is, a reliable source of information from a not very reliable one.

      • Libraries are good. No, this is even wonderful! Not only do they have a lot of free books (and sometimes other media content), but they also sometimes host various events. Librarians can answer your questions.
      • Libraries also store local publications, from which you can learn a lot about your city.
      • Some websites are excellent sources of information. Wolfram|Alpha - for scientific and computational data, Digitized Manuscripts - for digitized manuscripts (from the Middle Ages to the present day) of artists, various educational sites - for those who want to learn something new. The main thing is to remember that a small amount of skepticism is always appropriate (and it doesn’t matter whether you’re surfing the Internet or reading a book). Facts and an open mind are what will help you much more than natural intelligence.

   Part 3

   Improving thinking

   1. Change your thinking with language. Scientists have long proven that language determines the way of thinking. For example, those who grew up in a country where the names of parts of the world are often used in speech, and not the concepts of “left-right,” find these parts of the world much faster with the help of a compass.

      • Learn at least one foreign language. Those who speak more than one language see the world... wider, fuller, brighter, more capacious. A new language will definitely introduce you to new paradigms of thinking.

   2. Learn from everywhere. Studying is not going to school or memorizing the date of the Battle of Kulikovo. You can (and should) study throughout your life; you can learn anything. If you are constantly learning, you are constantly thinking and therefore developing.

      • Don't blindly trust authorities. Even if a person seems to know what he is talking about, you should always check and double-check, look for new points of view, etc. Just because a respected person said something does not make what he said true. And it’s a completely different matter when you find confirmation of what he said in a number of independent sources.
      • Skepticism is your best friend. Information should be drawn from a number of independent sources, while always paying attention to who makes certain statements (statements by biased figures, as you yourself understand, are not worth a penny - and sometimes it happens that such figures themselves do not understand what they are talking about).
      • Discover new things, get out of your comfort zone. This will make it easier for you to accept new opinions and views that... do not fit with yours, so you can discover ideas that you would never have known about. So take a cooking class, learn to knit, or join a community of amateur astronomers!

   3. Use mental exercises. The brain, in a certain sense, is similar to muscles: weak muscles get stronger and stronger after exercise, a weak brain after exercise... gets stronger and begins to think better. The more and more often you use own brain, the better you think!

      • Do some math. Regular math classes are an excellent exercise for the brain and also prevent Alzheimer's disease. Do a few exercises every day (without a calculator, do the math in your head).
      • Memorize the verse. This is not only a way to impress at a party, but also a great exercise for your memory and, consequently, your brain. You can also memorize various quotes so that you can incorporate them into your conversation at the right moment.

   4. Practice mindfulness. This is important because mindfulness not only helps us put our thoughts in order, but sometimes also allows us to find answers to questions. important issues. Mindfulness reduces the severity of mental problems, and will also be simply useful for anyone who strives to learn more and learn to think better.

      • You can practice mindfulness just by walking down the street. Do not become immersed in your own thoughts at such a moment, focus on your own five senses - pay attention to the green of the trees, the blue of the sky, clouds, the sound of your own steps, the rustling of leaves in the wind, people walking nearby, smells, temperature. Don’t judge your sensations (too cold-hot-bright), just notice them.
      • Meditate for at least 15 minutes a day. This will clear and calm your mind. Sit in a quiet, calm place where you will not be distracted (with practice, you can even start meditating on the bus or at work). Breathe deeply into your belly, focus on your breathing, on inhaling and exhaling - and not on the thoughts that will be spinning in your head at this moment.
   • The ability to think comes with experience. Everyone sometimes believes something they shouldn't. In this case, there is nothing to blame yourself for - you just need to continue to strive for the truth... and be more attentive in the future.

How to learn to think better

Anatomy of Mind Training

Mental strength comes from exercise, not from rest.

Alexander Pop, poet

EXERCISE

How do you rate your intelligence level?

HIGH: I have exceptional mental abilities. Just call me Leonardo.

AVERAGE: I come up with new ideas from time to time, and sometimes even solve extremely difficult problems.

LOW: my head is some kind of pot of semolina porridge. I really need some training.

It doesn't matter which category you put yourself in. Remember that the level of intelligence - that is, the ability to concentrate, to reason logically, to create visual images, your imagination, the ability to make decisions, and finally, the ability to think clearly and creatively - largely depends on how often and intensively you train your mind. If you feel out of shape, don't be discouraged: you can improve the situation if you exercise your mental muscles. If you feel that your intelligence is in excellent condition, do not forget to maintain this level with constant exercise. Even Olympic champions need training.

So, if you want to strengthen your mental muscles, the first question to ask yourself is: “How can I improve the performance of my brain?”

First, let's get acquainted with the different types of thinking muscles. To do this, let's do the following exercise.

"Jogging" for the mind

Imagine that you are holding an orange in your hands.

Imagine what it feels like, what it looks like, what it smells like.

For a few moments, try to create as bright and clear an image as possible.

Now imagine how you peel it, divide it into slices, and bite off a piece.

After that, take a closer look at the slice.

Ask yourself what it would look like if you magnified it a thousand, a million times.

What would the cell look like then?

What would the molecule look like?

After a couple of minutes, try to realize everything you know and don't know about oranges.

Think about what makes an orange an orange, why it tastes the way it does, how many varieties of oranges there are, how oranges have changed during evolution, how and what they can be used for, and how to make delicious orange marmalade.

When thinking about an orange, pay close attention to the “quality” of your thoughts.

So, put down the book and start doing the exercise right now.

Like most people, you will probably soon notice that the more you think about an orange, the more ideas, associations and connections appear in your mind.

You might think about physical properties oranges. You can move on to discussions about orange history and economics. It is possible that you will begin to speculate about the origin of the name of this fruit and how it is called in other languages. Finally, you can try to find as many rhymes as possible for the word "orange" (kerosene, harpsichord). And as you move further along the path of associations, look into your memory bank, build a chain of logical conclusions, you move from one way of thinking to another, thus training various muscles of the mind.

Each type of thinking has its own, well-defined “muscles”. Logical, analytical, metaphorical, critical, verbal, visual thinking - in each of these cases we use only one type of thinking muscle, which gives us the opportunity to stir up our inner world.

The need to cope with the variety of everyday problems requires us to be flexible in our thinking. Either you work hard in the field of critical thinking, using cold, hard logic, then you relax, throw everything out of your head and, playfully, explore new directions. You can work hard and move towards your goal slowly but surely, or you can, with a little juggling with the initial data, arrive at an elegant solution to the problem in the blink of an eye. Just as the various muscles of the body work together to ensure that the arms and legs work in a coordinated manner, the muscles of the mind need coordination to keep our thinking clear and focused.

We can say that there are four basic characteristics of the level of training, the preparedness of the mind for work:

Whenever a person undertakes a task that requires concentration, he applies mental power. It is this quality that you use when you sort through possible options in search of the optimal solution when solving a difficult math problem when you balance your checkbook, when you focus on one thing or idea without being distracted by anything else. Mental strength is the ability to focus on what you need to focus on, as much as you need to.

If you need to create something new, if you need to be creative, then your thinking muscles must be flexible and flexible. Mental flexibility is the ability to switch from one train of thought to another. It's like a game: you play through different options, build unexpected combinations, look at the situation from all sides. You collide concepts, mix ideas, make wild guesses to explore more and more possibilities. Flexibility of mind is an artistic, synthetic approach. This is creativity, brainstorming and a little zen - all together.

If you want to bring your ideas to life, you will need mental stamina. Endurance is the ability to maintain for a long time high level activity without being distracted or losing courage. This is the ability to endure, to go the entire distance.

If you want to add subtlety and flair, then you will need coordination of the mind, that is, the synchronization of thought processes of all types, their balance and vivacity. Coordination of the mind is a masterly mastery of the technique of arranging thoughts, the ability to operate with several concepts simultaneously, maintaining balance under any circumstances, this is the desire to learn for the sake of obtaining new knowledge and the willingness to fight for high ideals.

It is these four qualities - strength, flexibility, endurance and coordination - that determine how ready our mind is to work. Only by regularly alternating tension and relaxation of various muscles, by engaging in intellectual shaping and mental athleticism, only by constantly “moving the gyri of the brain,” can one for a long time stay in good shape.

As a diamond cuts a diamond, as one whetstone polishes another,

so different parts of the intellect sharpen each other.

Genius is the result of their mutual influence.

Cyrus Bartol, priest

How people lose their intellectual form

Why is one person’s mind sharp, brilliant, full of creative ideas, while another’s is “barely breathing”?

There are two main reasons for this: differences in the demands that certain circumstances place on us, and differences in habitual ways of thinking.

A bricklayer doesn't need to go to the gym to train his arms. By mixing the mortar and laying the bricks as he works, he strengthens his arm muscles naturally. Likewise, an accountant does not need to go to school to practice arithmetic. He already constantly works with numbers, his “mathematical muscles” are constantly being exercised.

If the circumstances of your life do not require continuous mental effort from you, then you simply do not have the incentive to keep yourself in shape. However, if life often presents you with problems that require immediate solutions, then your mental muscles become strong and fast. This idea is best captured by an old saying:

Use it or lose it!

ADVICE.

Ask yourself: “Which of my thinking muscles are not getting exercise every day?”

Habit is a way of doing something without thinking. Whether we like it or not, our entire lives, from how we brush our teeth to how we achieve our strategic goals, largely depend on our personal set of automatic skills. In principle, this is how it should be! Can you imagine what your life will become if you have to relearn how to brush your teeth every day?!

Your entire intellectual life - your observations, what holds your attention, how well you study, how you solve problems, what worries you, what you enjoy, what you think about throughout the day - is largely determined by your habits.

The key to achieving high brain performance is developing a specific set of healthy habits that help you achieve what you want. An intellectually developed person can control the work of his mind quite freely. He is interested in how the world works and why everything happens this way and not otherwise. He has a wide range of interests. He also knows how to change his habits through well-thought-out, conscious actions and develop very useful skills, for example, force himself to dream less and build castles in the air less often, make more informed decisions or take more risks. Collectively, these good habits enable the mind to become more receptive, respond appropriately to changing conditions, and ultimately develop the most important habit of all, the habit of acquiring good habits.

If you sow a thought, you will reap an action,

If you sow an action, you will reap a habit,

If you sow a habit, you will reap a character,

If you sow character, you will reap destiny.

Charles Reed, writer

ADVICE.

Ask yourself: “What habits are preventing me from thinking productively?”

Good exercises for intelligence

Solve the crossword puzzle.

Prepare for the exam.

Take part in a television interview.

Improvise on stage.

Parse difficult text.

Prepare a delicious dinner.

Visualize your friend's face clearly.

Try to remember with all the details when you last time ate ice cream.

Name your first teachers by name.

Learn a new language.

Lie convincingly.

Write a program on a computer.

Understand how a toaster works.

Paint a realistic landscape.

Change a bad mood to a good one.

Think about infinity.

Write a docudrama.

Recall in detail an important conversation that took place a month ago.

Talk to your boss about a salary increase.

Keep yourself in control.

Design an improved mousetrap.

Remodel the bedroom.

Ask an influencer a question.

Write an essay on philosophy.

Explain to a four-year-old child why the sky is blue.

Discuss the terms of the contract.

Bluff in poker.

Have fun with a computer game.

Search for the truth...

How to achieve good intellectual shape? Training the mind, like training the body, involves movement. For the body, movement includes warming up, running, swimming, playing basketball, weightlifting - anything that causes the muscles to contract and stretch.

For the mind, movement is the flight of thought - from assumption to conclusion, from problem to solution, from question to answer and from answer to question, from one state of mind to another.

Whenever you begin to actively reflect, that is, consciously and purposefully manipulate intellectual resources, you immediately set the muscles of your mind in motion.

In a broad sense, the term “training” means activities aimed at developing skills, improving oneself, and developing one’s own abilities. Essentially, any activity that requires active attention - be it solving a puzzle, solving a production problem, or simply trying to collect your thoughts while sitting quietly in a chair - is mental training.

It is not only what you do that is important, but also how you do it - that is, it is important correct technique execution of the exercise. The gymnast repeats the movement over and over, making small adjustments until he achieves desired result. Thanks to training, the gymnast's muscles become more obedient.

To develop your mental muscles, train your thinking. Practice a specific task in your mind until your “muscles” learn to perform it as needed.

Good mental gymnastics is a meeting with yourself, an opportunity to concentrate on your own inner world and challenge your intellect. It is a way to transform mental energy into constructive thought.

It doesn't matter whether you want to work hard to achieve peak mental performance or just want to get some exercise to make your mind more flexible. Old anyway good gymnastics mind will increase your creativity, give you the joy of achieving your goal and will contribute to the development of your intellect.

How to create a personal gym

In the next twelve chapters, you will learn many ways to train your brain. Each chapter is a kind of simulator designed to develop a certain quality of your mind. On some simulators you will alternately make efforts and then relax, plunging into serene calm; on others you will have to train your mind “until a sweat”. Some exercises are designed to activate your left hemisphere - the analytical, logical part of the brain, others - for the right hemisphere, the intuitive part of the brain, also responsible for spatial perception. And all together the simulators will provide you with comprehensive intellectual training.

Exercise 1: Freeing your mind. Warm up.

Trainer 2: Movement of the mind. Concentration.

Trainer 3: Mental tenacity. Increased endurance.

Exercise 4: Mental gymnastics (I). Imaginative thinking.

Trainer 5: Gymnastics for the mind (II). Verbal thinking.

Exercise 6: Mental power. Problem solving.

Trainer 7: Mind game. Let's fool around.

Exercise 8: Looking into the past. Memory.

Exercise 9: Mental flexibility. Analysis and synthesis.

Trainer 10: Mental coordination. Decision making.

Trainer 11: Improvisation. Creation.

Trainer 12: Highest performance. Learn to learn.

Useful tips

Here are some tips to consider before doing the exercises.

TIP 1.

Dress your thoughts in a “training suit.” Let all your problems and worries remain in your wardrobe along with street clothes. Create a work environment for training. Enjoy overcoming the challenges that you have chosen for yourself.

TIP 2.

Practice, don't analyze. The whole point intellectual training consists of conscious manipulation of mental resources - so do the exercises. The results will be directly proportional to your desire to flex your mental muscles. Remember good workout- the key to success.

TIP 3.

Don't rush. Take your time doing the exercises. It takes time to get to the deeper layers of thinking. Be patient. Give yourself time to explore the limits of your intelligence.

TIP 4.

Repeat the exercises. Most of the exercises in this book can be performed countless times at every opportunity. Development of your mental abilities determined only by time and practice. Develop your own mental gymnastics routine. If you don't succeed in an exercise, take a break and come back to it later.

TIP 5.

Exercise as often as possible. How heavy load you give yourself - the easier subsequent workouts become. The easier your workouts become, the more you enjoy them. The more you like them, the more often you exercise your mind. The more often you exercise your mind, the more developed it becomes.

Now you are ready - you can start

4. HOW TO LEARN TO THINK BIG I recently met a woman who was recruiting for one of the largest industrial organizations in the United States. Every year for four months she visits the campuses of higher education institutions. educational institutions looking for