Clear Thinking

"Clear thinking requires courage rather than intelligence." - Thomas Szasz

Our minds produce thousands of thoughts every day, and each thought matters. Our thoughts reflect our innermost self and affect our moods, feelings, emotions, beliefs, behaviors, and actions. How you think is just as important as what you think and determines the quality of your life.

 An essential skill to master is the ability to think clearly. Clear thinking is critical in analysis, learning, interpreting, remembering, and teaching. It is also vital in innovation, open-mindedness, planning, decision making, and problem-solving. With clear thinking, you'll spend less time having to correct mistakes and re-doing work. Clear thinking improves effective communication.

Thomas Edison said, "Thinking is the hardest discipline of all." Like any skill you intend to master, it takes practice, repetition, and discipline to build up this mental muscle. The more you practice clear thinking, the more you experience the maximized benefits and positive impacts that result from it. There are three types of thinkers: Those who think; those who think they think; and those who don't always think. Be mindful of how and what you think.

Here are some tips to help you learn to think clearly:

Just breathe. Sometimes it is essential to take a minute to pause, slow yourself down, and breathe. When you focus on your breathing, you allow your mind to clear itself of all the internal noise and chatter. Oxygen flow helps your body regain its balance and helps you to feel calmer, centered, and focused.

Practice mindfulness and being in the moment. Reduce ruminating about the past or worrying about the future. The only time you can affect is now. Try to observe the moment as neutrally as possible and allow yourself to be comfortable and relaxed. This will allow your thoughts to flow naturally and non-judgmentally.

Enjoy solitude. Take a moment to self-reflect on where you are and where you would like to be with your thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. Allow yourself to appreciate the life you have lived and the life you are living. Practicing solitude will help to activate your subconscious mind and trigger your intuition. 

Check your attitude. Having a negative state of mind affects the clarity of your thinking and often leads to irrational thoughts, increased stress, and anxiety. Negative thoughts prevent your thoughts from flowing freely. Having an optimistic outlook and positive attitude will increase your objectivity and induce clearer thinking.

Get clear and specific on your purpose and goals. What do you want from life? Why are you here? What drives you? What do you need to do to get there? Clear purpose and goals will help provide direction, add meaning, and drive clearer thinking. 

Get organized. It may be an excellent time to get organized whenever you find yourself with too many thoughts running through your mind. Make checklists & write things down. It is difficult to have clear thoughts when you are worried about trying to remember everything. Writing things down actually allows you to clear them from your mind. 

Allow yourself to start small. Creating change doesn't always have to be monumental. Focus on progress, not perfection. Taking small steps and improvements in the right direction is still progress. 

Be aware of your energy level. Sometimes you need to get up and get moving. Go for a walk or exercise for 30-60 minutes. This will increase your energy level. When your energy level is up, you will often get insights or ideas that help you think better and make better decisions. 

Allow yourself some downtime. If you are constantly on the go or continuously busy, you may need to give yourself a break and allow for some downtime. This includes downtime from social media and the news. It can be beneficial to take a break and start fresh.  

Clarity will help you get focused, make better decisions and get things done.  Clear thinking will also help you feel more confident and content.  And if possible, you should start and end your day with mental clarity. 

Make today great!

Curtis

"In desperate times, much more than anything else, folks need perspective. For perspective brings calm. Calm leads to clear thinking. Clear thinking yields new ideas. And ideas produce the bloom of an answer. Keep your head and heart clear. Perspective can just as easily be lost as it can be found." - Andy Andrews