How do you think best?

Most of us would recognize that thinking is one of our job responsibilities. Why of course. That’s so obvious it’s not even worth pausing to consider. But if we actually do pause and consider it, we might conclude that thinking is not only one of our responsibilities, but our most important .

But thinking – good, penetrating, innovative thinking – is hard. As physician, author and inventor Edward DeBono says in his excellent book, De Bono’s Thinking Course, “the main purpose of thinking is to abolish thinking…the mind works to recognize familiar patterns…it then switches into it…further thinking is unnecessary.”

In other words, the brain naturally seeks to automate its work, to do as little as necessary to interpret and arrive at conclusions. While this helps our mental efficiency (and our ability to survive), it significantly lessens our creativity.

How do we overcome this? How, when and where do we do our best thinking?

The answer, I’m sure, varies for each of us. As I recently read in The Wall Street Journal, Larry Chicola, chief corporate engineer of Six Flags Entertainment Corp., kayaks or fishes before work at one of Six Flags’ New Jersey properties just “to think.” Personally, I do my best thinking in a state of semi-consciousness just before rising each day. Whatever your particulars, I’ll bet they don’t include sitting at a desk, banging away on a computer, or attending a corporate meeting – activities that consume most professional’s time.

So what is your best thinking environment? Find it. And don’t feel guilty about spending more time there. Remember, quality thinking is among your most important responsibilities.

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