Rethink Thinking: 15 Tools to Escape Thinking on Autopilot

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INTRODUCTION

Rethink Thinking

According to the dictionary, in Hinduism and Buddhism karma is the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.

What we think, we become, said the Buddha.

The Dalai Lama said: The time has come to think more wisely, hasn’t it?

Think about it; reflect on these words. They permeate every stand we take in life. They overlap in all fields of activities that we may be involved in.

The time has come to pay more attention to our thinking, not just the thoughts, not just the outcome. At that point, it might be too late.

Thinking must become a more proactive activity, starting the process at its very genesis. Thinking about the way we kick off our thinking processes. This is what Rethink Your Thinking is all about.

The premise of this book is that thinking should be an act of liberation, a statement of freedom, rather than a compulsory act, or an established routine. When we install a pattern, we just settle for a single path, a one flavor only way of going about thinking.

About Beliefs and Routines

How is a rock formed?

A rock is formed by sedimentation. Matter carried by air or water settles and forms deposits of sediment, that in turn, and over time, accumulate and compress, forming a rock.

While we truly appreciate the role of geological formations, especially rocks, that make our world more solid and permanent, there is a downside to that formation of matter that becomes over-solidified, when looking for attributes, such as flexibility, adaptability and spontaneity, among many others.

What happens when we repeat things many times? 

Like a particle that solidifies until a rock is formed, repetition hardens the tangible object (matter), or a subject (a thought), exposed to this recurrence. Our beliefs and routines are two important everyday companions, so essential to our lives, that we never leave home without them.

In the following paragraphs, I will explain how they are created, and then why they are so crucial to our thinking process.

A belief is something that we accept as true. Something we are convinced is real. It is not created spontaneously, it is the product of an initial thought, that it is confirmed by other similar thoughts over time. In short, a belief is a rock created by the sedimentation of many individual, repetitive thoughts.

A routine is something we love; it is like comfort food for our everyday life. Like a super comfortable old pair of shoes. Even in these days of accelerated mobility, we still create routines, such as checking our Facebook page several times during the day. We just can’t get enough of our personal routines. They are beyond mere repetition; in fact, a routine can contain an asymmetric behavior, like never eating twice at the same restaurant. But, no matter how unique that may sound to you, it is still a pattern.

A belief and a routine have something in common: they tend to get entrenched in our psyche. These two are go getters, nesting inside our mind, and staying there for good.

They have two particular features: permanence and resilience. Once developed (formed), they become a geological formation in the mind.

How They Operate

The two most important factors when describing the modus operandi of beliefs and routines, are invisibility and determination.

When something is undetectable, as the term suggests, it will fly under the radar. It will move in a specific, pre-determined trajectory, without ever being seen.

What is truly odd (or maybe not), is that it will most likely always move following the same pattern. That is why it is, ultimately, a routine. No matter how obvious it is, the act of recurrence creates a cloak of invisibility. The more it does it, again and again, the better it gets at it.

Determination is what is turned into sediment after the routine becomes totally redundant. The point here is that, after many repetitions, it settles down into a single notion, beyond the physical task it is accomplishing. That accumulation of thinking the same thoughts over and over again creates what is called a belief. This is when feelings or ideas that were once scattered solidify into one solid conviction. This impression will last until it is challenged by a new and powerful thought that, again, over time, will become as rigid as the original thought it is replacing.

When the two combine, and they will, you will be thinking on autopilot. Nice, comfortable, relaxed, right? Sure it is, provided that you have control of the on/off key. Unfortunately, in most cases, the dynamic duo mentioned above, will override your command.

Beware of routine.

A routine is like our reliable hearts that do their job with every tick, every second, without our conscious intervention.  Routine calcifies our belief system, taking over true and fresh thinking. This is when we start cutting corners, stereotyping, resenting new exploration, to protect ourselves from deception.

There is nothing wrong with a built-in system that protects us. The key is to keep control, instead of giving it up, without even knowing that this is actually happening. And it surely does, every day, many times over.

The Art of Thinking

The act of thinking is a very sophisticated array of biological events and sensorial inputs, that will go to waste every time we think that we think, while in reality, it will only be about processing information for the already pre-determined routes. In the words of Edward de Bono (the creator of Lateral Thinking), we will be using only the highways of thinking, the ones in our mental maps, the ones prescribed by past experiences. The intolerant and inflexible, totally seductive speedy, way.

Let’s walk together down new paths. This book presents you with alternative ways to kick off a fresh start every time you use one of the many techniques included here. Each one will have the effect of a flint edge against steel, producing a spark. It will be the oxygen your new idea is asking for.

Put on your running shoes, wear comfortable clothes, stay alert at all times. We are going for a ride!

How this Book Works for You

As there is no one way to go about most things in life, there is no one way to go about thinking.  What follows is an organized tour across many different ways of addressing the task of thinking.

The different methods are not mutually exclusive, since tasks may vary. Some can help trigger imagination, some might inspire new routes towards the desired solution.

Just remember the main difference between each one:

-Imagination opens doors where there were none before.

-Inspiration opens new, alternative doors.

Here they are with their fancy titles aiming to capture your curiosity:

The Structure Behind Each Method

To make your journey through this book more enjoyable, each thinking method will be presented with the same structure of sections and sub-topics. The different sections will enable you to compare methods, reaching your own conclusions about which ones work best for you.

There are three main sections. The first one takes care to present the specific method. The second section opens it, including an example. The third and final explains how to manage it.

Let’s look at them in detail:

Introduction: What This Thinking Method Solves

Section 1: Understanding It

Introduction

Purpose

Description

Section 2: Playing with It

Steps

Output

Example

Section 3: Controlling It

Process Management

Good For …

Avoid When …

In a Nutshell

At the end of each method, In a nutshell  summarizes all nine previous sections.

Its use is two-fold. Aside from the value of a recap, it gives you the possibility of comparing all fifteen chapters in a fast way, like directors selecting their cast for specific roles.

Try to use more than one of the proposed methods; explore how they adapt to your challenges. Have fun with them, open yourself up to experimentation and trial. Life is a journey; your thoughts can be great travel companions.

Happy reading.

THE 180-DEGREE FLIP

What This Thinking Method Solves

When we think about opposites, we tend to see them as irreconcilable polarities.

We see only separation. Our lizard brain is wired to deal with friend or foe, close or far, and so on. A very useful, instinctive way of thinking allowing us to make quick decisions, bypassing the slower intellectual process.

The 180-Degree Flip brings another way of looking at contrasts. Using the opposite notion from which the reader initially departs creates a new possibility of an unexpected outcome. 

Disruption makes us feel uncomfortable, taking us out of our comfort zone into uncharted territory. The big question then is: what are you missing when you go on vacation to the same place every year?

Section 1: Understanding It

Introduction

How many times in your life have you wanted to turn the tables? How did you feel when faced with a difficult situation, that seems not to have a feasible solution

Ever thought of having the opportunity of a fresh start?

If any of these thoughts have struck you at any given time, then this is your kind of method.

The trap in which we fall, when we think in the same manner every single time every time, is that when faced with unusual challenges, we do not have a fresh way of facing them, hence the belief that, for that particular situation, we do not have an alternative way to solve it.

This is your first taste of a friendly way to help yourself to escape a vicious cycle, while finding a thrilling and disruptive way of thinking.

Do not fear the act of disruption. Even if the sound of the word makes you uncomfortable, that is a definite signal, an alert sent by your traditional way of thinking not to change anything, as if an alarm has gone off inside you, flashing the word beware.

It is just an internal self-preservation process, triggered to justify and prolong the traditional way of thinking.

As long as you tell yourself that this is just a test, a harmless exercise, nothing important or permanent, you will have nothing to lose.

Think about this time as an opportunity for personal exploration, as a place where you can go for an adventure and where your safe return has been secured. It will be like going to watch a disaster movie, where planet Earth is threatened by an asteroid. You will be completely engaged with the fantasy for two hours, going back to your safe zone, and your untouched planet Earth after it.

Why not try it, just for the fun of it.

Purpose

When we think, we don’t always have a purpose. Actually, the thought process is like fast-moving clouds against our mental sky, propelled by the wind of stimuli from the outside world.

This method aims to repurpose your thinking, giving it a task to accomplish. It works as if you were receiving a command to act upon, a mission to go on, a trip to plan for and enjoy.

As the title suggests, this is a radical disruption and one based on the intention of engaging you right from the start. It holds out the promise to the reader of looking at the thinking process from the standpoint of the challenger, not the victim.

A 180-degree flip charts your path. It departs from the opposite point from which you were about to start. It is like crossing to the other side of the street.

The immediate effect you experience is a heightened state of attention, and a fresh angle of vision. There is nothing wrong with that; on the contrary, it liberates your thoughts, like opening a birdcage, and releasing the bird.

Another objective of this method, is to provide a clear sense of intent, hence a sense of direction. This path does not go only half-way, it is not just a lukewarm effort. This is a strong statement, telling your standard operating system to go fishing for a while.

We all know that there is no one way to solve a given situation, but most of the times we choose to repeat our own acquired ways.

Imagine that you are now a bird that has just been released from its cage having fun soaring through the skies.

This 180-degree flip proposal will provide you with a different solution, originating from an unfamiliar approach. The interesting point to highlight is that, when arriving at the conclusion of your thinking, the solution will not feel strange or illogical. It might be surprising, but will for sure never lead to disorientation. On the contrary, it will bring an exhilarating feeling of discovery. On the one hand, the magic of an original solution, and on the other, the satisfaction of having done it by yourself; just daring to go for it.

Description

This method is not for your everyday challenges, but it can serve many of your needs for solutions.

The simplest way to describe it is as a simple flip of the starting point. At that moment, the usual thinking process will be disrupted, bringing