10 Ways to Be a Better Thinker

 

How you can get much more out of that most mysterious of organs: the brain.

I call it the “leather couch problem,” but it happens to me every time I have to purchase something expensive. I’ll be standing in the furniture store, contemplating my sofa options―do I want the chestnut cotton or the black suede sectional?―when I’m suddenly seized with anxiety. What if I choose the wrong one? Beads of nervous sweat gather on my forehead; Ikea is not a fun place to have a mild panic attack.

Although I take my consumer choices seriously, I have always had a knack for making the wrong ones. I was the guy with the outmoded TV and the ill-fitting jeans; I ordered badly at restaurants.

This recurring problem is what first led me to investigate the talents and the limitations of the human brain. Could I teach myself to make better choices? And what about the other things the brain is responsible for―creativity, willpower, deduction? Could I make my brain do more than it was already doing? Turns out, I could. Here are some principles of better thinking that you can apply to get more from your mind, every day.

 1. Tap your emotions. Our conscious thoughts are only a fraction of what’s going on in our brains. At any given moment, the unconscious is taking in vast amounts of information that we’re not even aware of and processing it all very quickly. Based on its conclusions, the brain generates emotions. So don’t disregard that subtle feeling telling you to avoid the salmon special. Your personal supercomputer is trying to tell you something.

 2. Don’t think under pressure. It was one of the worst moments of my life: I was 12, playing peewee basketball, and my team was trailing by a point. If I sank two free throws, we would win. I missed. Twice. Instead of relying on the part of my unconscious that’s like a trained autopilot (it had learned how to shoot baskets through years of backyard practice), I analyzed the details of my shots, using brain areas that had no idea how to get a ball through a hoop. Once we’ve taken the time to develop any skill (and it always takes time), we should trust our instincts.

 3. Consider alternative points of view. Professional poker players often use a simple trick when they suspect another player of bluffing: They think about how the player would act if he or she weren’t bluffing. The brain naturally filters the world to confirm what it already believes (which is why conservatives watch Fox News and liberals watch MSNBC). But this habit is limiting and dangerous; you could be fixating on the wrong answers.

 4. Challenge your preferences. Like presumptive beliefs (see no. 3), your supposed likes and dislikes can limit your mind. I used to be a bit of an expensive-wine snob. But then I did a blind taste test of wines from different price ranges and discovered what scientists have since confirmed: There is no correlation between the price of a bottle and how much you’ll enjoy it. By figuring out what you truly like―be it cheap wine or fancy shoes―you can enjoy life, not to mention spend more wisely.

 5. Take long showers. Studies show that moments of insight often arrive when you’re not aware that you’re thinking of the problem, such as during a warm shower or a long stroll. This is because insights are typically generated by a rush of high-frequency gamma-band neural activity in the brain’s right hemisphere, and a mind is better able to tune in to that hemisphere when it is stress-free.

6. Be skeptical of your memories. In recent years, scientists have demonstrated that human memories are surprisingly dishonest. The act of recalling an event (say, your eighth birthday party) changes the structure of that memory in the brain. Details are tweaked; the narrative is altered. The more you think about it, the less accurate your recollection becomes, and the less reliable it is as a basis for making any kind of conclusion. (So maybe you shouldn’t hire a clown for your kid’s party after all.)

 7. Don’t expect to diet and finish the crossword. It turns out that the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for willpower and cognitive thought, is a rather feeble bit of flesh and easily depleted. In a telling study, people who were asked to remember a seven-digit number and then offered a snack were much more likely to choose chocolate cake over fruit salad than were those who were asked to remember a one-digit number. The first group’s self-control “muscles” were exhausted! It’s important to realize that you can do everything―just not all at once.

 8. Study your mistakes. One common trait of successful people is their willingness to focus on their fumbles. Even when they do well, they insist on looking at what they could have done better. Such perfectionism might not be a recipe for happiness, but it’s a vital component of learning, since brain cells figure out how to get things right by analyzing what they got wrong.

 9. Go ahead and daydream. Forget efficiency. Scientists have discovered that daydreaming is an important tool for creativity: It causes a rush of activity in a circuit known as the default network, which connects different parts of the brain and allows the mind to make new associations. The daydreaming brain is actually in overdrive.

 10. Think about thinking. Metacognition, as this is known, is a crucial skill. Many scientists argue that the best predictor of good judgment isn’t intelligence or experience; it’s the willingness to engage in introspection. The brain is like a Swiss Army Knife, full of different tools. When picking out a couch, we can trust our emotions, but we should rely on the rational brain when scrutinizing the fine print of a mortgage. Unless you think about which mental tool is best suited for the task at hand, you could end up flustered, even sweating, in the sofa aisle at Ikea.

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Boost Your memory

Forgetting Boring Data

Problem: You tend to forget appointments, addresses, PINs, and passwords. Take heart―the brain wasn’t designed to store such data, called declarative memories, for a long time unless you make a concerted effort to do so. This type of information, which by nature isn’t special or exciting, has a short shelf life. Other declarative memories include historical dates and birthdays.

Solution: The only way to make essentially boring data part of your long-term memory is to store it properly so you can retrieve it later on. “If you don’t make a conscious effort to learn your PIN, your short-term memory will flush it out immediately,” says Zaldy S. Tan, M.D., director of the Memory Clinic at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, in Boston and author of Age-Proof Your Mind. Attach some sort of meaning to it. For an important date, like your niece’s birthday, give it an emotional connection (eight days after the Fourth of July). For less important information, like a dentist’s appointment, don’t even try to remember. “This is exactly why God invented the PDA and the date book,” says Aaron P. Nelson, Ph.D., chief of neuropsychology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in Boston, and the author of The Harvard Medical School Guide to Achieving Optimal Memory (McGraw Hill, $17, amazon.com). “The onus isn’t on your brain to do the heavy lifting.”

Being Distracted

Problem: You forgot why you walked into another room. You were probably distracted en route, or the item you wanted to remember wasn’t noteworthy enough to be registered completely in your brain.

Solution: "Visualize what you want or need before you start walking into a room," says Tan. He also recommends linking items you want to remember with something familiar. If you want to get your summer clothes out of the basement, before you set out, think of yourself on the beach or beside a pool in your swimsuit. This system makes the items more vivid and therefore more memorable. When you forget to visualize what you want and find yourself thinking, Why am I in this room? retrace your steps mentally and, if that doesn’t work, physically. “Ask yourself what you wanted before you left, whom you were with, or how you were feeling,” says Elizabeth Edgerly, Ph.D., chief program officer for the Alzheimer’s Association in Northern California and Northern Nevada.

Misplacing Everyday Items

Problem: You can't remember where you put your keys, wallet, or train pass. This is typically an attention issue. You toss your keys down when you walk through the door while preoccupied with something else. A few hours later, you can't remember where you put them. The act of putting them down also goes unnoticed because keys are mundane items―you probably wouldn't forget where you put a Rs.1000 bill. "If you don't perceive an event as important," Nelson says, "your memory will cast it off quickly."

Solution: Pay attention when you're putting things down, and tell yourself, silently or out loud, what you're doing: "I am putting my keys in my coat pocket," for instance. Consistency is an even better strategy. "If you put your keys in the same dish every day, you'll always, without fail, know where they are," says  Edgerly. "Having a good memory often has to do with developing good habits."

Remembering Words

Problem: A word, a movie or book title, or a long-lost friend’s name is on the tip of your tongue, but you can’t come up with it. "This is a universal problem, and it happens more as we age," Edgerly says. It also becomes harder to recall basic information when you feel stressed or are holding too many thoughts in your head at once.

Solution: First, cut yourself some slack―it happens to everyone. Then take a deep breath to clear your head. “An enemy of memory is multitasking,” says Gary Small, M.D., director of the UCLA Center on Aging, who is also the author of The Memory Prescription. Then say aloud what you think the name of the book or movie might be: “It’s something like water” or “It begins with an S.” Naming the actors in the movie or the characters in the book may also help jog your memory. If you’re still stuck, then “substitute a word that will fit for the time being,” Edgerly says, “and chances are the actual word will surface later.”

Forgetting People's Names

Problem: You have a hard time remembering people’s names. You’re not alone. “When I teach preventive memory classes to healthy adults, 90 to 95 percent of participants say they’re not good at recalling names,” says Edgerly. The problem may be storage (you weren’t paying attention when you met the person), retrieval (you can’t call up the name), or a combination of both.

Solution: Most people are visual learners, which explains why you rarely forget faces but often forget names. So when you meet someone new, take a good look at the person, repeat her name to yourself at least three times, then use it in conversation. For instance, if you meet a Mary, ask, “So, Mary, where do you live?”

"You can also try to link the name with a distinguishing feature," suggests Small. So if you’re introduced to a Mrs. Chambers with prominent cheekbones, think “cheekbones-Chambers.”

Performing Automatic Tasks

Problem: You can’t remember whether you’ve turned off the stove, the coffeepot, or the iron. When you perform an automatic task, like switching off the stove, you’re using procedural memory. This type of long-term memory is used for actions like riding a bike, typing, or putting a key into a keyhole. Because the act is more mechanical than conscious, you’re not fully aware of the action while you’re performing it.

Solution: Most of the time you probably do turn off the stove, the coffeepot, and the iron. But if you find yourself frequently guessing or sometimes truly forgetting, make an effort to be mindful of the critical moment when you flip the switch. Say out loud, “Oven is off,” “Iron is unplugged.” If you still find yourself forgetting, invest in products with automatic shut-offs and leave a reminder by the front door. A Post-it on the front door with a checklist of what needs to be on, off, open, or shut is a good remedy.

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