How to Think In an Information-ridden World?
We have a wonderful gift: the ability to think.
And how tragic it is that you and I barely use it.
Most often because we are too lazy. The Internet has all the answers. So why bother? If you want to know something, just go and Google search. You get millions of results in a millisecond. Quick and easy. No messing around. No losing sleep at night to come up with the answer. No taking long walks to think about the problem.
A long while ago, I watched a movie series about Einstein. I remembered a scene in which Einstein, standing in his office, watched a man working on the roof of the opposite building. He then imagined the man falling and visualized how gravity worked. Brilliant, I thought. Almost magical. There’s no limit to the human imagination. He can use the power of his thoughts to work out even the most mysterious force of the universe.
But how many of us would bother to think nowadays? We are too busy with life. Bills, jobs, children, etc. take away all of our attention. We have no time left to think for ourselves, let alone matters of the universe.
And even if we do, will it make any difference? Will all our problems get resolved only by thinking?
Well, I’m not sure. Like you, I don’t think much. I, too, am busy chasing my life that I forget to ask questions and think.
Besides, the information is so cheap now. Like mice popping out in droves every second. It used to be scarce once, reserved only for royalties, the rich and intellect. So rare people couldn’t rely on information to solve their daily problems. They must work out the answer themselves with their thinking faculty. They invented so many things during the process. Look at objects around you, all the brainchild of past men. Light Bulb. Electricity. Chair. Table. Boat. Train. But now, with the Internet, there’s more information than we could ever consume.
Get back to the question “Will thinking make any difference? Can we solve our problems by thinking alone?”, I like to believe the answer is yes. If you sit down and think (without a phone or laptop), you might come up with all solutions to your problem.
But it won’t be easy, of course. You’ll need a lot of mental effort to push back distractions and procrastination to think your way out of a problem. But it’s possible. It certainly is. For thinking is our birthright gift. The wonderful gift that separates us and the monkey, ape, and chimpanzee.
In my attempt to incorporate more “thinking” into my daily routine, I was fortunate enough to find a way: Write.
Writing is a great form of thinking. You write to clarify a problem, to free your mind of the clutter, and sometimes with luck, you come up with the answer.
And you don’t have to set aside a sacred hour to write. Just find a quiet place. Lock the door behind you. Open your laptop or phone. And start typing. Write whatever comes up in your mind. Pour it all out, whether good or bad. Don’t go back and edit. Shut the inner critic out and focus on getting your thoughts on the paper. There couldn’t be an easier and more fun way to think. Give it a try now if you still haven’t. You’ll be surprised at how many good solutions we can come up with.
