Kay Christopher

Clearer Thinking
Focusing the Power of Your Mind
By Kay Christopher, MA, EFTCert-I

As Published in the Southwest Regional Conference & Exposition Program of the Texas Society for Association Executives (TSAE)

The mind is a powerhouse—when it is used with intention. But when thinking is unclear, distorted, and confused it can create all kinds of problems and difficulties. In business today we cannot afford the costs of poor thinking. If there is one factor that really gives us the competitive edge, it is clarity of mind.

We live in a time of great uncertainty. Change and unpredictability are the keynotes of our daily lives. We need to be visionary, but it is difficult to forecast the future; and we find it necessary to make significant decisions with incomplete information and little time to prepare. In fact, we are overloaded with massive amounts of information to sort through, integrate, and understand. We are asked to innovate, become more efficient, and “do more with less” but many of us find this causes our work-load to increase. The pace of life is accelerating; and we have to continually be prepared to change our plans on a moment’s notice.

The stress associated with all of this takes its toll on our bodies, our minds, and our relationships. Finding balance is a goal, but we don’t seem to have time to figure out how to get there. It can be hard to really take a break from it all, get some peace and quiet, stop and relax—so we can get perspective and think more clearly.

The key to creating success in the future is to think clearly today. As competition heats up in our global economy, it is the one who is most creative, insightful, visionary, and wise who will make the decisions and provide the leadership that will take their businesses and employees to the top. Clearer thinking is our competitive edge.

What does it actually mean to think more clearly? It means not having a cluttered or muddy mind, one that is disorganized, scattered, and fuzzy. It means having a clear sense of focus and direction, being alert, and having the ability to take in new information accurately and with awareness. It means being open minded and unafraid of new ideas or new ways of doing things. It means being able to be creative and think “outside the box” in order to innovate, solve problems, and make good decisions.

Increased clarity of mind comes about through understanding how the mind works and taking on a program of training to develop and enhance mental skills. By improving the quality of our ability to think we can improve the quality of our lives personally, professionally, and socially.

In 1865 an editorial in the Boston Globe told of the arrest of Joshua Coppersmith. He had been trying to raise funds to create a device called a telephone. “Well informed people know it is impossible to transmit the voice over wires and that were it possible to do so, the thing would be of no practical use” the paper reported. We rely a lot on our perceptions to tell us what is possible, and in 1865 the idea of sound being transmitted through a wire made no sense. From the perspective of 1997 we might laugh at how narrow minded the Globe reporter may seem. But when we make an error due to lack of perspective we don’t think it’s so funny. It may cost us, our business, or our employer money or opportunity. How do we create the ability to think from a larger perspective while at the same time being realistic and logical in our approach?

In working to expand our perspective it is helpful to first realize how we limit and contain our own thinking. American linguistics expert B.L. Whorf hypothesized that how we think is determined by the language we speak. His theory is called the linguistic-relativity hypothesis. Psychologist J. B. Carroll selected two groups of Navajo children for a research study based on this hypothesis. One group spoke Navajo and one group spoke English. The children were asked to sort a variety of objects. The English-speaking group sorted for color, as was expected; but the Navajo speaking group sorted for form instead. In the Navajo language there are a large number of verbs relating to the type of item being handled (long, flexible objects, square or round ones, short ones, thin ones, etc.). The Navajo vocabulary, which emphasized form over color, made quite a difference in how the children perceived and ordered their world.

Like the English and Navajo-speaking children, the words we use provide us with a structure for rational, logical thinking. This is helpful to us in many cases. But when we want to think innovatively, outside the box, it can be useful to leave language and rational thinking behind. Dr. Murray Gell-Mann, the Nobel physicist who proposed and named the quark theory has said, “There are a lot of mental processes out of awareness different from rational thought processes. I think this is the most important part of human psychology.”

Perhaps the most famous out of the box thinker is Albert Einstein. He liked to perform “thought experiments” in which he imagined various scenarios and possibilities. This is how he came up with the theory of relativity. Einstein’s theory has given humanity a radically new perspective of what the world is in terms of space, time, and motion. One very important thing to note about these experiments is that because they were visual and imaginary, they transcended the use of words or language. Einstein’s imagination was free to explore seemingly “impossible” scenarios and this led him to numerous discoveries that have changed our views of science dramatically. He went so far as to say, “Imagination is more important than knowledge”.

Setting up a training program to develop and improve mental skills can include a variety of activities that help improve the ability to:

Let’s take a deeper look at just one skill on this list, learning to use the imagination more effectively. In order to do this, practice letting go of using words that tend to keep you in a familiar pattern of thinking. Begin by relaxing comfortably in a chair or by lying down, and observing the images that come up in your mind. They may be fleeting at first, and if so that’s fine; just begin to notice them. Some people see clear pictures while others get more of a “sense” or feeling about an image or vision. Notice the way your imagination reveals itself to you when you observe it.

Gradually, over the next several days of thought experiments with your imagination, attempt to hold an image steady in your mind. Select an image and keep it in your mind’s eye. If it comes more as a sense or feeling than as a vision, trust that and go with it. Experiment with increasing its vividness and duration in time. If you keep making attempts you will find that gradually your skill level will improve.

Now, you are prepared to begin experimenting with using Einstein’s technique for problem solving and innovation. With a certain problem in mind, watch the images that come up in your imagination without trying to control them. Take notes so you won’t forget what comes. You may have a flash of insight, or make a new connection between two or more ideas that will help you solve your problem or think in a new direction. By allowing your mind to flow in this way it can make use of information and experience you already have in your subconscious mind, and connect it in ways you haven’t consciously considered before. In this process it is best to first let the images come freely; and later to apply logic to see if the ideas are workable.

Holding a problem in your mind, and then letting images come as you drift off to sleep may also produce very good results. German chemist Friedrich Kekule wrestled with a problem regarding chemical structures for many years. He had been trying to figure out the structure of benzene. One night, as he drifted off to sleep he imagined a snake chasing it’s own tail. He realized the solution to his problem was in this image. The atomic structure of benzene is in the form of a ring. That single vision has made a very significant contribution to the field of organic chemistry. Mozart used this technique as well, and upon waking would write down the score of the music he heard while he slept.

Our ability to think clearly, assess, plan, and decide is essential to matters in daily life as well as to long term planning and success. In times of such great change in business and in society there is no more important skill to develop than thinking clearly— for clearer thinking is truly our competitive edge.

References

David Lewis, Ph.D. and James Greene, Thinking Better, (Holt, Rinehard, and Winston, 1982) p. 243.
Ron Schultz, Unconventional Wisdom, (HarperBusiness, 1994) p. 12.
David Lewis, Ph.D. and James Greene, Thinking Better, (Holt, Rinehard, and Winston, 1982) p.253.
Scott Witt, How to Be Twice as Smart, (Parker Publishing Co., 1983) p. 131.

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