How can you be a better thinker?

Do you think people have forgotten how to think? We can still read, we can still listen, and we can still absorb information. But do we actually think?

The problem here could be the near-constant stimulation with TV shows, movies, podcasts, video games, audiobooks, tweets, text, DMs, and notifications of all kinds. This stimulus seldom, if ever, encourages real thoughts. More often than not, we receive input and we have no reflection time.

The basics of thinking better are fairly simple. Mainly, they rely on creating healthy thinking habits that encourage us to always question our initial intuitions, to avoid shortcuts, and to consider the second-order consequences of our decisions.

Here are some practices that could encourage deep, careful, and original thought:

Solitude - when was the last time you heard someone say, “I need to be alone with my thoughts?” That phrase has so much value. By following the wisdom and the invitation to go off by ourselves to a quiet place, we can find the time and space to think.

Silence - does noise of some kind fill your every waking moment? When the alarm kicks off your day, isn’t it a deluge of bells and ringing notification sounds or email dings? Just a few minutes of silence in our days can stop the racket that consistently drowns out our own thoughts.

Stillness - but our lives these days are similar to the stormy ride that yields little thought, besides fear and panic. When we are stopped, and we are still, even for just a few moments, our thoughts can take shape in ways they never would be able to amid all of our motion and commotion.

Walking - how many times have you gone on a walk lately and seen walkers or hikers wearing headphones? What a missed opportunity! Walking loosens the gears of the mind and the heart, helping us to reflect carefully and think clearly. With earbuds in, I’m afraid your mind is still racing and is being poured in instead of your thoughts pouring out.

Listening - active, expectant, listening is one of the most fruitful ways a person can be engaged.

Journaling - in the silence and stillness, ideas, dreams, and prayers, can fill the pages of journals. It’s a marvel at how thoughts come and go, and keeping a journal would capture some of those thoughts.

Everyone thinks; it is our nature to do so. But much of our thinking, left to itself, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed, or downright prejudiced. Yet the quality of our life and that of what we produce, make, or build depends precisely on the quality of our thoughts. Shoddy thinking is costly, both in money and in quality of life. Excellence in thought, however, must be systematically cultivated.