How you think

Throughout the training here at Fatum Operandi we encourage people to think about various things. Most of us know "how" to think — we do it without conscious effort most of the time. But are we aware of the way in which we think? How the process of thinking manifests in us as an individual?

Some people think best in a crowd, others in silence. Some people think while chewing on something, others while pacing the floor. Some people require physical action and others sit in meditation.

Become aware of your method if you are not already. It will allow you to be efficient when pursuing intellectual matters. Instead of wasting time fighting your nature, you can get into the heart of the matter. You will be able to plan ahead for time to think, and be able to put yourself into the environment which works best for you.

This is beneficial to be aware of when you must think about something and have little time to waste in doing so. For other times when you can be leisurely, try some other approaches. If normally you do your thinking in the privacy of your bedroom with the radio turned up loud, try the living room in silence.

The other thing to consider is how one's thoughts become actualized. First there is no thought, then there is a thought, but somewhere in between there is a process. For myself this process is one of little bits of information simmering in my brain for a period of time, until the thoughts bubble to the surface. Sometimes the thought is whole, containing all of its parts. Other times the thought is only partially formed. These partial thoughts I sometimes jot down, and others simply let slip back into obscurity in my head. Some people I know think very linearly. They begin with point A, which leads directly to point B, and on to point C. Asking them to leap from point C to point M is traumatic to them. Asking me to not skip points and remain in a linear thought progression is traumatic.

On occasion for mental exercise, try out a process of thinking that is not second nature.

Greater flexibility in how we think and the way in which we think will enable us to overcome a greater array of obstacles and move through unexpected situations during our lives with more ease.

“Mind is the great lever of all things; human thought is the process by which human ends are ultimately answered.” -Daniel Webster

“A thought is often original, though you have uttered it a hundred times. It has come to you over a new route, by a new and express train of associations.” -Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.