I was having a cup of tea the other day when my friend rang me up about this work dilemma he was facing. After listening to him ramble on for a good ten minutes, I offered what I thought was sage advice: "Just think about it, mate."
There was a pause on the line. "That's the problem," he said. "I've been thinking about it for days and I'm still stuck."
And that's when it hit me like a double-decker bus we're constantly telling each other to "think about it," but has anyone actually taught us how to think? It's a bit like telling someone who's never seen a bicycle to "just ride it around mate" and then walking off, isn't it?
"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he" — Proverbs 23:7
Lovely quote, that. Profound. Life-changing, even. But utterly useless if you don't know how to thinketh properly, innit? (I think I'm getting British English fever lately, I think it's the series that I'm watchig so mind the mate(s) and innit(s) quite a bunch of them)
The Thinking Problem
Here's the situation we find ourselves in: We believe we're thinking when we're actually just recycling the same thoughts over and over like a washing machine stuck on spin cycle. Our brains, brilliant organs though they are, are surprisingly rubbish at actual thinking without proper training.
Remember that subconscious mind I wrote about yesterday? That sneaky 90% of your brain running the show behind the scenes? Well, it's got a cheeky habit of making you believe you're having new thoughts when you're just reheating yesterday's mental leftovers. Mhm, all this time thinking we have thinking brains only to realise now we are just carrying microwaves.
Picture this: You're facing a difficult decision at work. Your boss asks what you think, and you promise to "think about it." So what do you do? You sit at your desk, staring into space, while your mind helpfully plays your morning commute on repeat, reminds you that you need to buy milk, and then treats you to a highlight reel of embarrassing moments from your teenage years. Twenty minutes later, you've "thought about it" and are no closer to a solution. Brilliant.
Actual Thinking vs. Mental Wandering
"The unexamined life is not worth living," said Socrates, who was presumably quite good at proper thinking given his reputation. But he never popped round to explain exactly how to examine said life, did he?
Real thinking isn't passive, it's aggressive; it's an active process. It's not letting your mind wander aimlessly like a toddler in a toy shop. It's directing your mental energies with purpose and structure.
Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things." Paul isn't just telling us what to think about, but implying there's a deliberate choice involved. You've got to grab your thoughts by the scruff of the neck and point them in the right direction.
How to Actually Think (Finally, the Useful Bit)
1. Create Mental Space
First off, you need to clear some room in that cluttered mind of yours. Real thinking requires mental space. Try to "think" while your phone's pinging with notifications, your colleague's telling you about their weekend, and you're trying to eat a sandwich, and you'll end up with mental mush.
Dr. Cal Newport, in his book "Deep Work," talks about the importance of distraction-free concentration. He'd have a field day in our open-plan offices and notification-obsessed culture. "The ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare," he writes, "at exactly the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy."
So, step one: shut everything down. I mean everything. Phone off (or at least on airplane mode), email closed, door shut if you've got one. If you're at home and everyone else is making all the noise they can, maybe invest in some decent noise-cancelling headphones. Your brain needs quiet to think properly, like a chef needs a clean kitchen.
2. Question Everything (Especially Your Own Assumptions)
Real thinking starts with questions, not answers. Most of us do it backwards, we start with what we already "know" and then just rearrange the furniture a bit.
Imagine you're faced with a problem at work. Before jumping to solutions, try asking:
- What am I assuming here that might not be true?
- What would someone who disagrees with me say about this?
- What information am I missing?
- What's the actual core problem here, beneath all the symptoms?
Jesus was a master at this, wasn't he? When the Pharisees tried to trap him with clever questions, he'd often respond with an even more penetrating question that exposed their assumptions. "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God what is God's." Brilliant bit of thinking, that.
3. Write It Down (Your Brain Is Slippery)
Your mind is like a greased pig at a country fair, so just when you think you've got hold of a thought, off it goes squealing into the underbrush. The solution? Capture those thoughts on paper.
There's something almost magical about writing things down. As Proverbs 16:3 says, "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans." Part of that committing process in our modern world is getting it out of your head and onto paper (or screen, if you must, though studies suggest handwriting engages different neural pathways).
I was trying to solve a tricky problem last week and kept going round in circles. Finally yesterday, I grabbed a pad of paper and just brain-dumped everything. Looked like the scribblings of a madman when I was done, but suddenly I could see connections I'd missed before. The solution practically jumped off the page and did a little dance. Man I was not exhilarated!
4. Argue With Yourself (Politely)
One of the best thinking techniques comes from an old Roman chap named Cicero, who advocated arguing both sides of a case to get to the truth. Modern psychologists call this "dialectical thinking" I call it having a good debate with yourself.
Take whatever position you're leaning toward, then actively try to destroy it. Find its weaknesses. Question its assumptions. Be as ruthless as that friend who always tells you when your new haircut is a disaster.
Then switch sides and defend your original position against those attacks. It feels a bit schizophrenic at first, but it's remarkable how this process clarifies your thinking.
As Isaiah 1:18 puts it, "Come now, let us reason together." Even God invites us to a thinking dialogue rather than passive acceptance.
5. Use Frameworks (Because Your Brain Loves Structure)
Our brains are pattern-recognition machines. Give them a framework, and suddenly thinking becomes easier. Here are a few you might try:
- The Five Whys: Keep asking "why" like a precocious four-year-old until you get to the root of an issue.
- The Six Thinking Hats (from Edward de Bono): Look at a problem from six different perspectives.
- SWOT Analysis: Examine Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
- Mind Mapping: Start with a central idea and branch outward, creating a visual representation of your thoughts.
Pick one that resonates and give it a go. If you would like more on the subject I'm happy to help.
6. Embrace the Pause
This one's counterintuitive in our hustle culture, but sometimes the best thinking happens when you stop trying to think. Have you ever noticed how your best ideas come in the shower, or while walking the dog, or just as you're drifting off to sleep?
There's solid science behind this. When you step away from a problem, your brain doesn't actually stop working on it, it just shifts the work to background processes, what scientists call the "default mode network." It's like your brain's version of slow-cooking a stew; leave it alone for a bit and the flavors develop wonderfully.
Ecclesiastes 3:7 reminds us there is "a time to be silent and a time to speak." I'd add that there's a time to actively think and a time to let your mind simmer quietly.
The Final Thought (See What I Did There?)
"Think about it" might be the most common and yet least helpful advice we give each other. Without knowing how to think effectively, we're just spinning our mental wheels and getting nowhere.
So next time someone tells you to "think about it," you can smile knowingly and say, "Oh, I will. Properly." Then go find a quiet corner, turn off your phone, grab a notebook, and actually engage in the rare and revolutionary act of directed thought.
Because now you know how to actually think about it. And that, my friends, changes everything.
"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." Proverbs 23:7
(Now I'm off to make a cup of tea and think about some stuff for the day ahead. Properly, of course.), Because This is What We Do Now!
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