Step Up Your Mental Game

#358 Learn how to think like Sherlock Holmes

What if you were able to solve difficult problems? What if you could find solutions when most people give up? What would this mean to you?

What if you were able to find solutions like the fictive detective Sherlock Holmes? Your life would most likely change in many ways.

When you’re able to solve people’s problems, you will get a lot back in return. Money, praise, friends etc.

Your mental game

The brain is something wonderful & incredible. By deciding how you’re going to use your mind, you can form your brain in different ways. You can physically change your mind by using it in new ways. Big changes won’t happen in a day, but after a while, changes might happen.

Very often I think about how I can improve my mind. How I can make it sharper, in order to find better solutions to things.

Today I got reminded about the great Sherlock Holmes and I decided to study his mind. Especially I came across the book “Mastermind — how to think like Sherlock Holmes” by Maria Konnikova.

A new way of thinking

When a new person enters a room, many people immediately start to judge the person. Their clothes, eyes, and physique. Even if the person has been silent so far, you’ve already made an image of the person.

This image will be in your mind the first moments. And you will most likely act according to the image you’ve created.

A different way

In Konnikova’s book she describes how Sherlock Holmes just acknowledges their appearance. Then he waits until the person starts to speak. Once he has all the clues, he will be able to create a more accurate image.

So he starts with looking at the world in not a positive nor negative way, yet in a neutral way. His first impression is to ask if something really is they were it seems to be.

With all his prior knowledge, he starts to compare earlier situations with this one. In this way, he starts to find theories. ‘Is the person an introvert or extrovert?’ for example.

After that, he tests his theories and deduces it. Once it’s done, he either gets a more accurate answer or he repeats the process.

Thinking

To think in this way might be difficult because it means that you need to resist to accept the first impression. However, it’s a theory which might be interesting to try & see if it works for you.

Your challenge

Write down three impressive people with great minds you’re going to learn from.

Originally published at Johan Rosén.

Day 358 of 365 days doing something scary/thrilling/exciting

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