Geniuses are just ordinary people who stumble on a knack or way of
thinking that enables them to think and learn more effectively and
creatively than others.
When you closely examine how
“geniuses" like Newton or Archimedes thought, they didn’t simply sit
under trees or in baths until their enlightenment: they used some very
powerful and practical tools to create order out of their thoughts and
find answers to problems that few people ever thought to solve.
In this article, we explore some of the tools the
great thinkers used. They are as applicable now as they were then.
These techniques will help you to:
Clear your head when faced with a challenging problem.
Generate more than one workable solution to your problem.
Think creatively.
Think productively instead of re-productively.
Give you clear methodology that will make solving problems straight
forward and stress free.
First, here are some of the
common factors of the world’s great thinkers:
The idea generation was in pictures and images rather than words.
Einstein and da Vinci drew diagrams instead of writing words and
sentences.
Their thinking was unrestrained nothing was consigned to the bin until it had been fully investigated.
They treated thoughts as things.
Ideas were explored using association.
They looked at ideas from different perspectives.
They were prolific and recorded everything.
They fuelled their imaginations with knowledge.
Their thinking was focused.
They were passionate and determined about discovery.
They made mistakes but instead of seeing them as failures, saw them instead as “ways of how not to do it".
They saw potential in everything.
They saw mistakes and unexpected surprise results as valuable opportunities to learn from.
They never gave up.
Consider this definition of
"problem": a problem is an external event perceived as a mental,
physical, emotional or intellectual threat to the individual/s
concerned. Chances are, your problem only became “a problem" when you
became personally involved causing your perception of an event to
shift before that, it was just an event, when you perceived that you
were potentially threatened by it, the event became a
problem.
Everything (including problems) starts in
your head. Using your imagination and thinking processes constructively
while you solve problems gives your mind the “stuff" it needs to be
productive (create new solutions) as distinct from re-productive
(create more of the old which is what probably landed you with the
problem in the first place).
One of the most
reliable ways of solving a problem is the “systems" strategy.
This method does not allow you to add complications
that do not exist and it ensures the facts are gathered without the
hindrance of destructive emotion (the first indication that an event is
turning into a problem).
Seeing the entire system
(i.e. the problem and everything associated with it) enhances insight
into a problem and allows you to deal with the real issue. Most often,
when solutions don’t work it’s because they are the solution to a
perceived problem, not the real one.
Applying System Thinking to finding the real problem
Write down what you perceive the problem to be. (e.g., general performance is poor)
Look at all the symptoms that lead you to that conclusion (e.g. late
arrival, low motivation, agitated behaviour between colleagues, missing
deadlines)
Take each symptom and write down all the possible causes for each one
(NOTE: be as unbiased as possible (e.g. possible causes for missing
deadlines – working late hours, unclear job descriptions, unclear
management decisions, unreasonable timescales, etc.)
Take each of the possible causes and determine if they apply to the
situation (e.g. Do people work late hours? Are timescales unreasonable?
Is communication between staff and management clear?). Sometimes it is
worth using some form of external mediation at this point to ensure an
unbiased outcome.
Once you have determined some definite causes, work on those solutions
instead of the general issue of “poor
performance".
One of the reasons why this technique
works is because instead of gathering your team and accusing them of
poor performance, thus setting the scene for blame or denial, you are
in fact asking questions that give people the opportunity to examine
their performance without feeling threatened or singled out. By asking
questions you might find that “poor performance" is caused by the fact
that people feel obliged to work late each night and are exhausted.
This problem is comparatively easy to solve because, unlike “general
poor performance" it is clearly definable.
It’s
important to carry out this exercise with all the people involved. It’s
also important to make it a safe and open forum so that people feel
free to contribute without thinking that one wrong answer with generate
a P45.
Active Daydreaming.
One main difference between the way Einstein thought and the way most
other people think is that his method was more disciplined. Take a
moment to consider what you think about in a typical day. What are the
chances of you generating your theory of relativity based on what
presently occupies your mind? Give yourself a mark from 1 to 10 (1
being – no chance: 10 being – I would have but Einstein just happened
to get there first!)
Using your imagination and
thinking processes constructively while you solve problems gives your
mind the “stuff" it needs to be productive (create new ideas) as
distinct from re-productive (create more of the old).
Using Active Daydreaming.
Do this exercise with a colleague or use a tape
recorder.
First, write down in a single sentence
the problem you are working on.
Set a timer for as much time as you can afford
Sit back, close your eyes, breathe deeply and relax.
State your problem and desired outcome out loud, and then describe all
the images and thoughts that come into your head. Just start to talk.
It doesn’t matter what the images or thoughts are don’t disregard
anything. It is important to speak out loud for two reasons, one, you
wont miss anything, two, you are more likely to stay awake and focused!
Carry on at least until the clock goes off or when you have come
across an answer or idea that you sense might warrant further
investigation.
Take a short break then listen to the tape or study the notes your colleague made.
Then, organise your thoughts.
If you worked with a colleague swap over. Once you have both carried
out the exercise, compare notes.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
