The BOLD (What do you think?)
“I need to think about that.”
I hear it all the time when I work with clients. We will discover some insight, encounter some new awareness and the client will feel the urge to give it some thought.
My question is often, “How will you think about it?”
Do you know the circumstances under which you do your best thinking? Can you arrange your environment, internal and external, to support good thought? How does that even work? Let’s explore the components of The Thinking Arena—a place you can create, curate and nurture for your best brain work.
The Whisper (How do you think?)
Agatha Christie, the mystery novelist, made light of her ability to think of new, complex plots. She said that new plots would pop into her head when she performed mundane tasks. She painted a picture of long baths in a lipped tub surrounded by the cores of the many apples she’d eaten—all in service of thinking about her latest story.
The novelist knew what situations enabled her best thought.
Do you?
You find yourself thinking, “I need to spend some time thinking about this…” decision, idea, concept, insight. How do you set yourself up, then, for thinking success?
Thinking is a language exercise, so it falls under the Prospects of Possiblity™ key of Speak, Think and Create. It also falls under Prep the Path. How do you create an environment that allows you to do your best thinking?
Think of a time when you were able to suss out the meaning of a difficult conundrum. What assisted you in doing so? Here is a list of prompt questions to help you start to design your best thinking arena—a place to foster, nurture and encourage good, solid thinking.
Elements of The Thinking Arena
What was the temperature of the environment? Most of us think best in a room that is a little cooler than room temperature. What about you? Are you stimulated by cold or relieved of distraction by cozy warmth?
What sounds accompanied your thought? Was there music? What about the ambient noise of a coffee shop? Some people prefer white noise, ocean recordings, gently breeze sounds, the distant laughter of children. What soundtrack best accompanies your best thoughts?
Were you active or still? Did you solve the problem by sitting in one place and concentrating? Were you walking or working out? What level of movement (or stillness) supports your greatest thinking?
What was in the environment? Were you in a comfortable chair or lying on a bed? Were you flat on the floor, standing on a treadmill, sitting on a park bench or perched on a stool at the coffee shop? Hard surface seat or soft cushions? Green grass or slate floor?
What was on the menu? Was food involved? Agatha had her apples. Some people find the act of chewing gum to be an aid to focus. Were you hungry or full?
Who was in the cast? Some people require solitude to think. Others prefer the company of a conversation partner.
What was the time of day? Do you have your ahas just as you awake before you dive into the day? Do you do your best thinking over lunch as you mark a halfway point? Does the quiet of evening or the stillness of night inspire you to reflect?
Noticing the circumstances, environment, and accessories that accompany your deepest, most productive sessions of thinking can help you to design an environment for thought.
We think that thoughts will just happen. We think this because thoughts happen all day long. We also think that great thoughts will just happen. Sometimes it takes an elevated experience to produce elevated thoughts. By curating your own thinking arena, you are increasing the chances that you will be supporting better problem solving, greater creativity and more focused decision making.
By committing to spending time in thought, you are increasing the likelihood that great thought will happen more frequently.
How do you support good, solid thinking in your life?
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