The Roles of Thinking, Observing, and Learning in Gaining Knowledge
A friend told me she'd read my pamphlet on "Thinking on Paper" and had immediately used it to think about a family situation. She'd concluded that she needed to talk with someone to find out more information. She wanted to know if that was "all right." Of course, it...
Mental Leverage
Some of you may be familiar with Wally Wallington and his techniques for moving Stonehenge-like blocks (up to 19,000 pounds) with ropes, little rocks, wood, and his own effort. No metal, no machines, no engines. Just clever use of levers and wedges. If you haven't...
Strengthening Self-Control
The WSJ had an article once on "How to Keep a Resolution." One of the suggestions was to strengthen your self-control. Here's the relevant section: "It may be possible to strengthen your self-control before starting your resolution by exercising it on small tasks.......
Natural Explanations for Some Mysterious Phenomena
As part of the work I do to help people master the use of their own minds to achieve important goals, I occasionally find myself in the role of a "debunker." Many people don't understand how the subconscious works and they treat its influence on their lives as a kind...
Plan to Percolate
I often spend an hour pre-thinking about a topic before I "need to," not because I'm pressed for time, or because it's new material, but solely to allow me to percolate. Planning to percolate is a good use of your brain. If you don't know what I mean by "percolate,"...
Four Productivity States to Manage
Some years ago I read an interesting book titled The Origin of Everyday Moods: Managing Energy, Tension, and Stress, by Robert Thayer. The bottom line from the book is you need to distinguish (and manage) four identifiable productivity states: Relaxed & Energized...
Take Fear of the Unknown Seriously — Do an Experiment
I often hear from people who are paralyzed by fear of the unknown. They think they know the next step to take, but they are uncertain whether it will result the way they hope. If they knew, they would take it. Instead, they are stopped by fear. For example, a woman I...
Measure What’s Important
You have probably heard, "If you don't measure it, you can't improve it." True. You can't make something better unless you can get objective feedback on how you're doing. By choosing a metric, and periodically measuring it, you can see whether the changes you are...
What is “Crow” Overload?
Mental overload is the #1 obstacle to thinking. Whether it's too many things to think about, too many emotions to give you space to think, or too much complexity to untangle in your head, it is THE problem. Indeed, what distinguishes humans from animals is that we...
Judgment “Bias” is Countered by a Logical Process
We often hear about psychological studies which purport to show that physical circumstances affect people's judgment. For example, in one study people were given either hot coffee or iced coffee to hold, then they read a packet of information about a fictitious...